


Imperial Secrets, Noble Remedies

by rishfish



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Arranged Marriage, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Old Kingdom AU, Royalty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-05-17 09:12:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5863279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rishfish/pseuds/rishfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A conspirator. A traitor. A fugitive. A prisoner. He was not just a king. Kageyama Tobio was a tyrant and now he's found himself living in secrecy amongst the skeleton of the once great Kingdom of Karasuno, a group he'd previously been planning on decimating completely in his quest to vanquish his more powerful enemies, including his own grand king, Oikawa Tooru. As disasters rock the new foundation Karasuno has worked so hard to recover, secrets are revealed, love induces chaos, and everything good comes crumbling down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Running. Gasping. Falling. Croaking. Yelling out in a storming landscape devoid of any souls. The rain beating down upon his back feels like it’s trying to pin him to the ground and smother him with the mud adorning it. He tightens his hand into a fist, grasping at the dirt. The sludge oozes between his fingers to escape his overthrown reign. The fallen boy tries his best to push himself up, only to slip time and time again.

He’s normally composed and clever and he’s never been brought down so low. Now, however, he’s been forced on his knees by his own tyrannical personality and rejected by his peers-- his  _ kingdom _ . And now he can never return. He’s lost and never felt this new emotion tearing through him. He’s being chased out of safety, into an unknown and desolate world full of crazy and dangerous things. He keeps falling and he can’t keep getting up. It’s getting hard to see with the heavy downpour. His pursuers have returned to their manor but there’s no way he can get back. The defense is too dense. 

Over a quarter of an hour passes before he can will himself up. He’s trudging through the swampy landscape lost and although he refuses to believe it himself, afraid. He doesn’t know what to do. Not in a storm like this. He’s never had to go through something of this scale. Exiled to survive or to die if he didn’t. But he doesn’t know how to survive. He thinks he feels tears on his face but that could just be the rain. He isn’t sure because he’s not one to cry. 

Hours pass by and eventually the rain passes on by. The sky is clearer now but he finds himself even still with blurred vision. His eyes are red and puffy. Maybe he got some of the mud in them. Wiping his face, he proceeds onward over the lay of the land with caution. The nightlife of the woods he’s approaching is buzzing and it’s a little intimidating. He tries to trek around the edge of the woods but exhaustion is overcoming him. His stamina alone has carried him a long way thus far, but it’s finally dying down. Clothing is still matted and wet, stuck to his quivering body. The air feels way too cold and he feels sick. He can’t help stumbling and dropping to the dirty terrain has become an even more frequent thing as time chugs onward.

He’s injured himself. He’s managed to start a collection of wounds here and there. They range from small scrapes, to deeper cuts, to strained muscles. Bruises are swelling and painting his body underneath the mud and clay caked on over his skin. Though mostly small, the wounds building up begin to take their toll on him and his endurance. Two topples later and he’s left with a badly pained ankle.

It’s not long before his exhaustion gets the best of him and he collapses. Since he’s probably sprained his ankle he’s only moved ever so slightly but it’s too much. His vision swims and blurs. The sun is dying the sky red and pink as it rises and he falls. As he fades into unconsciousness things stop registering. He doesn’t know what’s going on inside his own mind and he’s lost to his weakness and reckless travels.

 

...

Badum… badum… badum… 

“He’s alive…” 


	2. A Traveller to a King

“He’s awake!”

 

The princely king by the name of Tobio Kageyama jolted up, quickly dizzied by the sudden action. He felt his head roll back on his shoulders and a hand pressed to his chest, forcing him back down. It was a little less gentle than he would have hoped for. He let out a soft oof and then a groan of pain as he realized how sore he was.

“Idiot! Stay down. You’re probably like dead or something,” said that same voice from before. He squeezed his eyes shut. That same sunny, warm, inviting voice. He hated it. How dare anyone be so cheerful sounding when he was in such a state. “I’m trying to save you.” 

Tobio cracked open his eyes again. His vision was fuzzy for a moment before it came into focus. A very earthy smell filled his nostrils. 

“No close your eyes,” said the voice again. Tobio didn’t have time to react before a splash of freezing water was dumped over his head. 

“N-no! I’ve had enough of that!” He suddenly shouted. His voice was coarse and cracking. 

“What-?!” The voice seemed startled, if not intimidated even. “I’m trying to clean you off- you’re like covered all over with mud and sticks and blood!” He pouted. Tobio furiously wipes the water from his blue-gray eyes and stares at his current company. The first thing he notices about the guy is his hair. It’s bright orange. Not something one really could see everyday. The next thing he noticed was his small stature. He could easily pass for a kid- but there was no way a child would be out on his own in the middle of nowhere. He didn’t look too scrawny either- which meant he was taking care of himself somehow if he was alone. But… was he? Tobio didn’t know where that assumption came from. His filthy hand shot up and shakily gripped the smaller firmly by the shoulder.

“Are you with anyone?” The king snarled fiercely. “Who are you? Why are you out here?” His voice was demanding. He was ordering that he give him answers. He needed them now. 

“Ahhh!” He gasped. “I’m alone, don’t worry. I’m traveling all by myself-” he suddenly froze. “You’re not a murderer are you? You could be a serial killer! Just kidding I have a clan to back me! Not that I need it because I’m an expert fighter,” he stuttered.

“Where are they? I don’t believe you. I think you’re alone.”

“N-not here! Er… Hey, I’m not finished cleaning you off yet and you’re hurt,” he tried changing the subject. Tobio let out a ‘tch’ of disapproval and although he settled down, his glare never ceased. His icy stare was trained on the redhead, unwavering for the most part aside from a few twitches here and there. The kid stared back.

“You didn’t-”

“I’m Hinata Shouyou. I’m gonna be a really great fighter one day,” he said. “I’m looking for a place to belong that will let me fight despite my size, so I was just travelling through here when I came across you. I accidentally stepped on you cause you just looked like a pile of mud and you wheezed. I thought I’d even killed you for a minute-” He trailed. “Now it’s your turn.”

Tobio continue to stare at him, though his glare softened. He was about to reply with something stuck up about his position but stopped himself. His mouth hung open for a moment while he thought up an excuse. He had to come up with some sort of story. 

“I-”

“Oh no?! Don’t tell me you’ve lost your memory! I mean maybe if you’re a murderer that’s a good thing but- if you’re not then-”

“Shut up, dumbass peasant,” he hissed. “I haven’t lost my memory. Don’t jump to conclusions like that. I’m Kag-” he stopped. “Tobio. I’m Tobio.” He couldn’t let this kid know he was royalty if he really didn’t know who he was and no one recognized just Tobio. Unless this kid lived under a rock his life- which very well could have been a possibility judging by his shaggy appearance- then he’d know the name Kageyama. It was a fearful name. People knew it. They respected it. They bowed to it’s power. This feisty and ambitious child could be the lure for a team of bandits. Well… Tobio didn’t exactly have anything left to his name after his exile, but the bandits wouldn’t know that, and well if they did? No one would pay the ransom. He was as good as a slab of rotten meat in their eyes. 

“Ah, well, nice to meet you then Tobio, but you still have explaining to do,” he said, crossing his arms. He looked tempted to begin washing off more dirt so for the first time since waking up Tobio glanced around his surroundings. They were beside a babbling river. The water was an unhealthy, murky brown. It was stained and soiled mostly with sediments from last night’s rainfall. Nevertheless, Tobio assumed he had no choice and began scooping the nasty water up with his hands to rinse off the thicker coats of dirt on his arms and legs.

“I don’t have much explaining. I’ve been travelling. I got separated from my caravan. I’ve been lost for days and from that I don’t remember much. It’s been a blur, I guess.” 

“So you do have memory loss-”

“I do not,” he huffed. “Just most of my last nights were too stressful and not worth

remembering.” 

“Oh. Whatever,” Shouyou crossed his legs in order to sit beside him without getting wet. He eyeballed Tobio suspiciously whenever he hissed in pain at the water revealing his cuts and open wounds. “I bet those are gonna get infected.” 

“I bet you’re not a medic,” he muttered in reply.

“You don’t need a medic to tell you those are gonna get infected. You have open, barely scabbed wounds with dirt in ‘em,” he pointed out. This kid obviously thought he wasn’t too bright. No it wasn’t that. He was just dazed and wanted nothing to do with this peasant. While his intention to become a fighter was noble, they were still low down in the hierarchy in almost every kingdom throughout the land. He was stupid and probably had a better social standing from whence he came anyway. 

“I don’t need a child telling me about all this. I’m perfectly capable of surveying my injuries by myself,” he croaked. 

“I’m not a child,” said the now irked Shouyou. His hair seemed to raise on end. “I’m eighteen years old,” he muttered. “I’m almost full grown.” Well… he stopped growing a while ago it seemed, but Tobio decided mentioning that wouldn’t help the situation. “That’s why I’m on my own. I’m pretty close. There’s a clan around here that might take me,” he said. “I left home because I wasn’t going to be able to be a fighter with my size but…” He trailed off. “You look bored.” 

Tobio was indeed bored. He didn’t care about this insignificant’s life story. “So?” He muttered, returning to his cleaning. “I’m focused.” 

“Well you better pay some sort of attention even if it’s boring. I know you’re stubborn but you seem like you have a lot of self-interest so what I have to say might be helpful if you can bear boredom for a minute.” Was that a smirk on that smug short kid’s face?!  
“That’s no way to talk to a-” Tobio grit his teeth. “A stranger.” 

Shouyou frowned. He didn’t wanna think of them as complete strangers. They were at least acquaintances. “So anyway. There’s a clique. It’s called Karasuno. They used to be one of the kingdoms but they got too big and fell way hard,” he said. “I heard about them passing through Seijoh lands,” he said. Tobio froze. His eyes went wide and he had trouble controlling his outward reaction toward the word. Shouyou didn’t seem to notice though and carried on. “They’re a really small group of people now, but that means they’ll take any fighters they can get I bet! I also heard they’re not very stationary so I want to catch them before they leave again. Plus they had this one fighter a long time ago and he was really great and valiant and just like me...” Shouyou rambled but Tobio’s mind lingered on the word stationary.

They weren’t very stationary for a reason. Any chance another kingdom got to gobble up a smaller, lesser nation, they would and Karasuno was high on the lowlife list to eliminate finally. They weren’t a major threat to some of the other kingdoms (or so they’d thought) so it didn’t take priority but it needed to happen sometime and whoever gained more prestige amongst rivaling kingdoms by swallowing the weaker people not only gained more loyalty but also the upper hand. Moving on would be necessary to stay out of their reach. They’d hold their own for as long as it took one of the more powerful kingdoms to take over.

“Tobio?”

“Sorry. I wasn’t listening. Your voice is annoying,” he said sternly. Despite his rude comment, after a brief huff and pout, Shouyou seemed to recover. Maybe he’d realized it was just his style to be that way.

“So are you coming with me or not? If we find this group they could help you with your injuries and uh… everything else,” he said, eyes scanning Tobio up and down. He didn’t appreciate that. “Oh! And they might know about where your caravan is! I hear they’re pretty knowledgeable about that sort of stuff!” Tobio froze. 

“No. They won’t know anything. I don’t want to go.” 

“Huh? That’s weird and totally crazy! They would help you, you know?!”

“I’m trying to lie low. I don’t really wish for my caravan to find me.” 

“Then we’ll ask them not to. They won’t do anything that doesn’t benefit them. And hurting you surely wouldn’t!”

“I’m not going.” 

“That’s stupid!” 

“I don’t care,” Tobio lashed out. “I’m not going and that’s final. You’re doing fine on your own and I’m fine taking care of myself.” Tobio, with a serious lack of grace, forced himself to his feet. He stumbled a bit. He gave a sharp glance down at his ankle which he hadn’t really noticed was in searing pain until he stood and put pressure on it. He lifted his foot and winced at the pressure was relieved. His balance didn’t serve him well however and he fell back, catching himself on a tree as the other reached out to help him. Tobio shivered slightly as his clothing felt so cold and damp still. He was also filthy of course.

“We’re going and you can’t say no,” Hinata says. “You’ll probably die if you don’t. Is that what you want?” He asked. Tobio shook his head. “Then come on. I’ll help you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! Some important things to take note of in this chapter-   
> I'm experimenting some with world building here. At this point I've designed a hierarchy, and a system for all the kingdoms throughout the land. There will be more details on this later on in the story. Now that I have more posted, I'd love to hear from people and take any questions~!


	3. Good People

_ Everything is burning and people are screaming. Blood soaks the ground. The dead grass is dyed a deep dripping red. The smoke in the air makes being able to see ridiculously difficult. Warriors from opposing kingdoms are grouping up people here and there, hoping it will be easy to persuade them to grow accustomed to their new kingdom. The Karasuno army has been vanquished and few have escaped.  _

It’s been mere years since the great Karasuno was taken down from their high horse. The attack was brutal and left few to survive. Back when the wound was still fresh, most of the survivors were either children, in their teens, or young adults. Most of the girls were taken into other kingdoms, leaving most of the boys to fend for themselves. This made it very difficult to repopulate and thrive, which was the purpose of leaving only the young males.

Since the attack, a few outsiders have trickled in, but only after rigorous tests of trust. Under new leadership, Karasuno has become cautious beyond what they can really even afford. This is the reason when Tobio and Shouyou arrive at the edge of the village’s current perimeter, they’re met with immediate aggression. 

Shouyou leaped several feet in the air when a loud growl ripped from the throat of a small feisty attacker, tumbling onto the scene and skidding to a stop. Another much taller catches Tobio from behind and gets a firm grip on his arms. However the kingdom’s guards are met with a struggle. The raven haired king punches forward with one arm and slams the other back. The move is anticipated however so the close-shaven fighter yanks his arm up and back. 

Once he pinpoints Tobio’s current weakness he’s able to kick his injured ankle out from under him. With a gasp of pain and a difficult fall, Tobio goes down. The baldie raises his voice. 

“Ay! ‘Noya, hurry it up!” He huffed. A grunt escaped him and Tobio squirmed to get up. 

The smaller of the two fighters, who could be assumed to be this ‘Noya’ character shot his partner a glance. 

“I’m trying, but he’s quick,” he huffed, going after Shouyou again, who’d been escaping Noya’s advances by merely hopping, dodging and skittering around. Finally the redhead spoke up. 

“Stop! We just want to talk!” He wailed. He was pretty intimidated, but totally wowed at the pair’s abilities. These two were probably the final remaining knights he’d heard about. They had really sharp senses and were quick on their feet. They were strong too, albeit unarmed. The two probably thought the travellers wouldn’t be much of a challenge.

“Then come down here,” Noya shouted in reply as Shouyou had made a jump to grab onto a tree branch. He’d pulled himself up on top of it and was staring down that the other. 

“No way! If I do that you’ll just attack me again!”

“I could attack you anyway, I can climb too, ya know,” he informed the other. “Don’t make me come up there!” 

“Listen, hear me out! Please! I’ve come a really long way all by myself. I want to join Karasuno. 

“Eh? Why’s that. You’re better off elsewhere in my opinion,” Noya almost growled. It was very blunt really. And it caught Shouyou off guard. Why wouldn’t he encourage people to join them? Were things here still really so bad? They’d come a long way in their development despite everything and from where he could see in the tree, the fortified town was pretty decent looking. “It’s too dangerous here for kids like you,” he added simply.

“I’m not a kid,” Shouyou huffed. A pout grew on his face. “I’m Hinata Shouyou and I came here to be a fighter. I practice a lot and I used to really look up to one of Karasuno’s old knights. I heard that my height wouldn’t really matter here. That you were taking whatever help you could get,” he explained from the tree. Noya looked from Shouyou briefly to the other straddling Tobio on the ground. He returned the glance and then the two both redirected their attention to Shouyou again. 

“Who’s this then?” The other unknown warrior spoke.

“I found him on my way here. He was almost dead a few nights ago after that storm. His caravan left him behind. That’s Tobio. He’s hurt pretty bad. All scratched up. And his ankle is really gross and puffy.” Noya’s stance visibly relaxed. 

“So what do you want to do? Were you hoping to request an audience with our leaders?” He received a small nod in response. Noya had to admire that Shouyou seemed determined despite his size. And from their brief fighting encounter, he had a decent skill set when it came to speed and power. He sent a wide-eyed glare at the other beneath his friend, though. Something was wrong about him. Maybe the dirt was just off-putting. He nodded his head up, signaling his partner to get off the other. 

“You can call me Nishinoya for now. My partner you may address as Tanaka,” Nishinoya spoke again. The name situation for them was different. They were known already by their last names. It was their first personal names that were more secretive. It wasn’t a big deal if the newcomers knew them by their titles or last names. They weren’t undercover as King Kageyama was. If they found the new pair to be trustworthy, they’d reveal their names later. Tanaka got up off of his prisoner and let the other go. He held a hand out to help him up but Tobio refused him completely, shuffling himself up weakly. 

Tanaka glared and then put his hands on his hips. “If you wanna contribute around here, you’re gonna have to be more humble,” he informed the other. He started leading the way, gesturing for the two to follow up behind him while Noya took up the rear. They lead them through the town, with curious bystanders staring them down in the streets. Soon enough they arrived at a building that, although still very modest and crude, was slightly larger than all the others. 

“Ahem- Prince Sugawara,” Tanaka addressed as they entered. An ash blond male who appeared to be in his early twenties,  _ maybe _ , stood as the four of them entered. Tanaka stood by Tobio on one side of the door and Nishinoya shuffle Hinata to the other. Sugawara looked over the two with soft caramel eyes and then to his knights.

“These are our visitors, I’m guessing.” The prince had a gentle voice. It was warm and soft. You wouldn’t expect it but it was. “You already know me, so please introduce yourselves,” he said. He looked at Tobio with great concern. He was beaten and bloodied. He was super dirty too. He didn’t apologize for his knights though. They wouldn’t hurt someone that badly unless they showed ill intent. And if Tobio had showed ill intent they wouldn’t have allowed him in here. 

“I’m Hinata Shouyou! I want to be a fighter but I can’t at home because of my height!” Shouyou stated enthusiastically. Suga’s gaze briefly drifted to him and then back to Tobio.

“I’m just Tobio. A traveller belonging to no particular home. I was left behind by my caravan and subsequently injured in their wake,” he said. 

“Is there a reason you were left behind?” Suga asked, calmly. His gaze was fixated on Tobio, who bowed his head.

“Yes. I disagreed with their destination. I did not want to enter the Kingdom of Aoba Johsai. I have a bad history with someone inside. He’s dangerous to me,” he said. Shouyou looked shocked that he revealed more information than he’d been previously forward with. Tobio looked Suga in his eyes. “I was found by this short guy and tagged along. He said I could find help here with my ankle and cuts.” Suga wasn’t completely certain of his honesty, but he wasn’t one to deny someone the aide they needed if they were in especially bad shape as this. 

“I cannot say whether you’ll be allowed to stay or not,” he said, talking to the both of them now. “But for the time being I can offer you help, some food, and you’ll have to bunk with our advisor and the kingdom’s teacher. I’ll have our servant inform them of your stay. They’ll keep an eye on you and relay their observations to our King.”

“Oh- hum... Pardon me for asking, but do you not have a Grand King in your court?” Shouyou asked curiously. The question seemed innocent enough so Suga dignified it with an answer. 

“We do not hold that title any longer. It was deemed extra or unnecessary after our last one was executed that night we fell. Doesn’t it feel excessive for a supreme ruler when a population is so low?” He responded simply. “Our King is Daichi and I am his Prince. That seems enough to me.”

“So are you married to the King yet?” Shouyou asked. He’d heard of the new hierarchy before. It wasn’t really all that new, but only bigger kingdoms practiced it. There was a Grand King or Queen, an image of power and the supreme leader of the country. They were practically Gods in the eyes of their citizens and were utterly untouchable. Underneath them were the younger Kings. They achieved their statuses by marrying princes or princesses. Kings held some authority but more so over more minor issues that the court took care of. Princes and Princesses would be the equivalent to nobles in territories somewhere far away. 

Suga smiled and nodded, “Indeed.” His smiled slightly faded. “Now, as much as I find your questions engaging, I think we should be getting medical help with Tobio, here.” He guided a slightly disgruntled Tobio to a seat around the table. “Nishinoya, could you please find Asahi?” Nishinoya grinned widely. 

“Yeah! Totally,” he snickered. He seemed pretty excited about this simple task. The knight darted out and returned mere moments later holding onto the wrist of a very tall man. He exceeded the height of the small knight by a long shot and was easily the tallest in the room. Suga had started using a washcloth and clean water to dab the remaining smudges off of Tobio’s bare arms. He took special care with the scratches and gashes. 

“You needed something, Prince Suga?” Asahi asked. 

“Could you show Shouyou to Keishin’s and Ittetsu’s? They’re going to be staying with them until Daichi sees them fit for their own residency.” Tobio wanted to protest as it sounded if Suga would be making him and that midget peasant live together. He said nothing, however. This wasn’t his kingdom. It was far from. This weak place. It wreaked of disparity. “Shouyou will tell you about the situation as you go,” he said. 

“I’ll go with them! Help Asahi not be so shy with the newcomer,” Nishinoya said with enthusiasm. Suga gave the shorter a concerned glance but nodded nonetheless. As the trio left returned his focus to Kageyama, applying bandage patches where they seemed the most necessary. Tanaka left as well to return to his post. 

“Before I was a prince my occupation- Well, I was apprenticing to be a medic, you know,” he told Tobio. He remained silent, wincing as Suga worked on cleaning one of the larger cuts. “You don’t really seem surprised that a medical apprentice became a Prince,” Suga commented.

Tobio took a deep breath, “You’re the prince regardless. It’s not my place to be surprised how you came to be that way.”

“Even though your status may be what other kingdoms consider common, you’re allowed to inquire. I won’t bite,” Suga said smugly. It was possible that  Suga calling Tobio a commoner was a test, but he couldn’t quite decipher the other’s tone. He might have just been acting kind and humble since he’d come from a common class before he was a Prince. 

“Then how did you become a Prince?” Tobio was interested to hear. It was certainly something other kingdoms would resent them for. That and the fact that they no longer appointed a Grand King.

“I was apprenticing when we were attacked. Asahi, our servant helped our King escape, but the both of them were injured. In the end Daichi and I fell in love as cheesy as that sounds,” he said.  “Originally Daichi had been betrothed to an actual Prince that he’d been raised with. Prince Ikejiri. The betrothal was broken off by the Tokonami Kingdom after the fall. It’s weird isn’t it? Ordinarily there’s no room for love in the hierarchy. It complicates things, following emotions but I think it would make the kingdoms and their orders a whole lot happier.” 

Tobio didn’t understand why Suga would openly tell him these things. Maybe he was doing it to manipulate him into feeling pity should he betray them later. Well it could work. Maybe. The two sat in silence as Suga continued to clean him off. After he deemed Kageyama clean enough to proceed helping him he moved a stool nearby. 

“I think I noticed your ankle was hurt. Can I see it, please?” He asked. Tobio hesitated but lifted his leg and set it gently on the stool. He cringed and looked away from the swollen ankle. Suga poked and prodded it for a minute. “This isn’t looking very good. I don’t think anything’s broken. You need to stay off of it for a few days. I’ll have to lay a cold rag over it to help the swelling reduce. I’ll wrap it in bandages too for support.” Again, Suga grazed his light touch and rag over his ankle to clean it. He continued to talk to Tobio, ask him questions, tell him stories in order to distract him from the pain. 

Night had fallen when Suga had finished wrapping Tobio’s ankle. He offered him a crutch and personally escorted him to Tanaka who then helped him to the humble home where he’d be staying, leaving Asahi and Nishinoya to themselves at the gate.

As Tanaka’s boisterous voice yakked on and on to Tobio about pointless things, Nishinoya turned from the retreating figures and went to sit up by Asahi on his post. He scooted right up next to him and grabbed the other’s hand, weaving his fingers between it when Asahi gave him a nervous look.

“What? They’re far enough away and Ryu’s vision isn’t that great,” he said, referring to the other Knight by his name. 

“It’s still making anxious though,” Asahi replied with a sigh. “Er- ah. Not you. Just the idea of someone finding out. I don’t like it. Not at all.” 

“Well no one is going to find out,” he said. “Besides, you know the Prince and the King. They wouldn’t really punish us or anything,” he told him. 

“They won’t but if it gets out past that it could mean serious trouble. They already have strikes against them,” he muttered. 

“Shush, Azumane. You’re worrying too much! Anyway, what do you think of those newcomers, huh?” Nishinoya’s bright eyes were trained on the taller who was looking down at their dangling feet over the gate. 

“I don’t really have an opinion on them. They’re sort of intense though, I guess.” He looked up at his smaller partner. 

“I’m intense too though and you handle me great! Right? I think so!” Noya laughed which caused Asahi to smile. Nishinoya was so carefree and lighthearted. Asahi nudged him very softly and shrugged, mostly in agreement. Nishinoya settled back some so he could lay all his weight on the other. “It sucks we have to sneak around,” he sighed. 

“I know. I wish we didn’t have to either, but you know how are jobs are. What my job entails specifically,” he muttered. 

“Yeah, yeah. And you can’t just leave your job. King’s already been too kind to us. We’re really lucky and should be happy. I’ve heard you say it all before. It might be true but I can still dream, right?” Nishinoya rested their hands on Asahi’s leg. “I hope if I drop enough subtle hints too maybe they’ll grant us permission to be open about our relationship.”

“Yuu, that’s a long shot and you know that.  They might approve but we can’t be open to that if we’re thinking of the good of the kingdom. Our foes would seek to destroy what’s remaining of us immediately if they thought for just a second that our rulers would allow something so- so-”

“Natural?”

“I wasn’t going to say-”

“Well it’s true. It’s perfectly ok for people to develop and act on feelings even if their

classes or  jobs aren’t compatible!” Noya could feel himself start to get fired up, which was definitely the last thing the pair needed. He was about to announce something loudly to empty world around the two of them, but he silence quickly when Asahi reached around him and pulled him up under his arms and situated him across his lap.

“We both know the circumstances, Noya. Just relax. Ok?” The two sat there in silence for a good few moments. It was relatively peaceful and the light of the fire illuminating the gate was a nice addition to the light breeze.

“Ahem-”

The sudden noise caused Asahi to startle and Noya flat out leaped down from the top of the gate’s arch. 

“HEY-” He barked only to see who it was. It was Tanaka. He’d definitely seen how the two were positioned above the gate. There was no denying it. 

“Hey- I was just coming back to my post. The King should be back soon. So uh. Yeah.” Noya calmed when Tanaka didn’t mention anything. “Asahi, you can go back now to get ready for King Daichi’s return.” 

Asahi nodded and dropped down from his post. He wanted to give Nishinoya a hug before he left but just gave him a pat on the shoulder while the smaller stared at him through the low light.

“I’ll see you later on Tanaka. Uh- Noya, I’ll um. Maybe later tonight? I have a cool new plant I found-” He said. “If you want to see. It’s at my house.  Just only if you don’t mind stopping by after your watch,” he said sort of awkwardly. Noya couldn’t stop himself from his expression lighting up entirely.

“Ahaha! Asahi, you and your gardening hobby. I don’t know if I’ll be able to see it in the dark!” He teased, waving his hand. “Maybe later.” Of course in Noya speak, this told Asahi that he’d be over as soon as Daichi had safely returned. It was part of their code. Asahi, without another word turned and left. Noya glanced back up at Tanaka as he climbed the pegs on the innerside of the wall to his side of the arch. Noya joined him in silence. 

Tanaka, who was choosing to ignore the fact his best friend was basically having a whole forbidden romance, felt sort of awkward. But he knew if he didn’t tell him about it… Well it was for the better that he knew less. It didn’t bother him too much since Nishinoya was so obvious about his affection for Asahi. 

After boredom got the best of them, the knights caved and began loudly discussing things that normal best friends would until they recognized Daichi’s wagon approaching the gate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope this chapter sheds some light. And yes, I know I redefined the meanings of the words prince and princess and such. It's for the sake of symbolism and the hierarchy. Hahah. Anyway. This is all cute now, but just you wait. ;3  
> As for chapter update consistency- I'm pretty much gonna update whenever I finish a new chapter. That means sometimes there will be a few in the span of a couple days or maybe one in a week's time. Ya never know. I hope to post no less than once a week though.


	4. An Affair! An Affair!

It honestly wasn’t shocking when Grand King Oikawa Tooru learned what King Kageyama wanted to do. If he hadn’t hidden it and planned to do so aggressively, maybe Oikawa could have played along. It definitely would have saved the Grand King some grief. He could have worked something out with the guy, but no. Now the bad blood between the two of them was even deeper than before and now there was nothing to gain. A knock on the door saved Oikawa’s from his thoughts. 

“Come in,” he said in a sing-song way. He slid down from where he was perched, dressed all in his night robes, upon the window sill overlooking his kingdom. It was so peaceful at this time of early morning. Oikawa had hoped to catch sleep by it, but alas his thoughts and anxieties were too distracting. The heavy door opened with a push from the other side facing the hallway. A certain black-haired, multi-talented figure entered boldly without even peeking around the door’s edge first. 

“Grand King?” He addressed. “What was it you needed? It’s pretty early in the morning, even for you,” he said with almost a biting, scolding tone. He was met with an unamused expression from his higher up.

“Are you not excited to be with me?” He asked. “And you don’t have to use the formalities when we’re alone, you know,” Oikawa pointed out. 

“Sorry. Oikawa. What do you want at this hour?” Iwaizumi sighed and it was obvious by his suddenly dull monotone that he was fairly tired. Oikawa seemed like he had to contemplate the answer. He wasn’t entirely sure why he summoned his servant. Oh well. He’d make something clever up on the spot. 

“I wanted to see you,” he said. There was a smug grin across his face. This earned him a noise of disapproval from his most loyal underling. 

“Is that all? You’ve seen me now.”

Oikawa pouted. “Why don’t you come and sit with me,” he said, going to his bed to sit. “We could have a nice long talk-”

“It’s not right to do that-”

“What? To sit with your Grand King? I’m giving you permission. What’s wrong?” He asked, curiously. He knew what the matter was but he didn’t want to think about it. In fact he’d rather just ignore it all together.

“You know what’s wrong. Stop being so smug and playing those games,” Iwaizumi still carried the dull tone but this time he sounded far more stern. Oikawa seemed hurt. He draped himself dramatically over the bed. He narrowed his eyes almost in a glare at Iwaizumi. 

“Come and sit. That’s all I want.” When his servant appeared as if he were going to protest again Oikawa spoke up more. “I’m not married yet. We’re allowed to breathe the same air.”

The servant couldn’t help but sigh and agree. Oikawa wasn’t wrong. He wasn’t married yet. And what he had with his arrangement could hardly be labeled as a relationship. If it weren’t a real thing happening it would seem so fake. Just for show. But instead it was in fact legitimate and while it would save the kingdom some grief in the future, Iwaizumi had to keep to himself to save Oikawa even more grief. He sat on the bed with only the most excellent posture by his lounging grand king. He tried not to make eye contact as Oikawa rolled off his back and onto his side. 

“Iwa, you’re so cruel. You don’t need to be so cold. I want to spend time with you before I can’t,” he huffed.

“It’s not like you won’t see me. I’ll still be your personal servant.”

“That’s not what I mean. I don’t mean spending time like that,” he informed the other. Iwaizumi already knew this. He was just making it difficult. 

“If you mean the time we spend like this, you’re not avoiding doing anything scandalous. An affair like it on its own is controversial. You’re a grand king and I’m your servant.”

“But it’s not like I’m just a King and I have to have someone eligible-”

“You do. And right now there’s only one contender. It’s not me. It’s your betrothed.” Oikawa swatted him.

“I don’t really want to talk about him right now. Not while I have you right here,” He said, smirk reclaiming his jaw. He was playing with one of the tassels hanging from Iwaizumi’s belt. “Who’s idea was it to give the servants such decadent uniforms and armor. It’s such a pain to take off.” The darker haired of the two grabbed Oikawa’s hand and firmly moved it away from the knot he’d begun tugging on. This earned another pout of disappointment. 

“You realize the trouble we’d both be in with Shiratorizawa if we were caught. We’d cause all of Aoba Johsai a lot of suffering,” Iwaizumi shook his head.

“Now, come on. I doubt it’d be enough to spark a war.” Oikawa rolled onto his stomach and let his arms hang off the side of the bed. “Besides. How is  _ he _ gonna know? He’s a whole land away.” This cued a frustrated grunt from the servant. It was too early for this. Or… was it just too late? 

“Anyone could be watching, listening. Waiting for a chance to stab you in the back. Not too long ago this might have seemed not too farfetched, but since you’ve since been betrayed by someone directly beneath you in your line of power… We can’t take the chance and you need to get used to not being around me like this.” Oikawa wasn’t his anymore. This secret… fling or whatever this was… needed to end immediately. There was an echoing knock at the door. 

“Your grand highness, are you awake? It’s an emergency,” came a muffled voice from behind the door. A defeated and deflated looking Oikawa rose his head in response. He quickly looked to his servant, but the other was already ahead of him and by the door. He pulled it open. 

“Kunimi? Speak.”

“Kageyama survived the storm. He’s been spotted by some citizens.”

“A ban and return penalty wasn’t enough to keep him out? Is he stupid?” Iwaizumi groaned.

“No. He was farther away on the outskirts. It appeared… hmm. He was travelling,” Kunimi responded. He looked as lazy as ever. But he didn’t shirk his duty when it came to keeping an eye and ear out for these things. “It’s assumed he’s headed toward Karasuno’s current station. It could be that he still plans to go through with his scheme. I’ve set our guards on alert, but it may be best to send a party out to find him before he does something… regrettable. He’s, well, angry now.”  

Iwaizumi cringed. He’d have to take care of this the hard way. Of course, there was always the possibility he would be just seeking refuge but if that was the case then why would he chose Karasuno of all places? There were plenty of towns just outside the kingdom’s perimeter he could recover at it. There’s no way he’d go directly to an enemy- even if they were weak. It didn’t add up. 

“Iwa?” Oikawa chirped, sitting up on one side now. “You should go investigate but I’d like you to take a few of our knights with you. Just in case. It’s been awhile since we’ve tried seeking out Karasuno and we don’t know what to expect.” 

Iwaizumi dismissed Kunimi so the guy could get some rest and met Oikawa’s eyes from the other side of the stretch of bedroom between them. He nodded and when he was met with a nod in response, Oikawa laid back and Iwaizumi left. The Grand King was wondering if he’d made a mistake by letting Kageyama go.

 

\--

King Daichi stared across the table at his two guests. Prince Sugawara was by his side, also watching the pair but with a much less intimidating gaze. After a moment longer of silence Suga turned to look at Daichi as he straightened up his posture and sat back. His eyes reflected a bit of concern for the two since they’d already been trying their hardest to fit in. Tobio’s ankle for the most part had less swelling and he was showing great progress. And although according to their current landlords they bickered on the regular, Shouyou had showed fairly decent skill in their training with Tanaka and Nishinoya and Tobio had been very attentive in watching. It’d been a few days since King Daichi had convened with them the first time and he was ready to give his final word on the subject.

“You can stay for now. But in becoming part of our society you are agreeing to abide by our rules,” he told them firmly. “Shouyou, you may continue your training as a fighter. Tobio, since you’re healing nicely you can officially join hinata in fighting or you can take up another job around the town,” he said. 

The small fighter’s eyes gleamed brightly with excitement. “Thank you, so much! I’ll do everything I can to protect Karasuno!” He said with a grin. 

“Now, now. Being a fighter is a very serious thing and even if we try our best to keep our fighters in top shape and away from super terrible situations, tragedies still happen,” he warned. “Even to some of our best. It gets pretty gruesome,” he warned. It was in the past now, but he’d seen what they’d done to one of Karasuno’s greatest knights upon capture.

Shouyou nodded frivolously. “I know! I’m ready to fight with caution but also valour!” He wasn’t sure of the immensity of what it was he was saying. He’d just thought the phrasing had sounded cool when Tanaka had said it earlier in their training. Daichi nodded and then looked to Tobio who seemed maybe even a little intimidated. He nodded but Daichi continued to stare at him as if he was awaiting a response.

“I too will continue fighting and um,” he paused. “I’ll train with Shouyou.” He was less enthusiastic and could practically feel Daichi wondering if he wasn’t being careful enough. But all he did was nod.

“Go on,” Daichi said, getting up. “You can go for now,” he dismissed. The redhead sprung up and thanked the King and Prince again before darting out. Tobio did so with less enthusiasm but did so nonetheless.

Shouyou led the whole way practically bouncing down hill. He only slowed for a moment when he passed by one of the produce gardens to spot one of his friends tending to the soil. 

“Hey! Tadashi!” He waved to get the freckled kid’s attention. It worked for Yamaguchi Tadashi sat up and gave a small wave in return. Tadashi got up and dusted his hands off on his apron so he could approach Shouyou. He put a hand on one fence post and greeted him with a smile.

“You can stay, I’m guessing?” He asked. He was met with an eager nod. “That’s wonderful news,” he replied. He was more of the soft spoken type and he spent most of his time trying to grow and harvest things for food. He often talked about how spending all the time in the sun gave him so many freckles. “Can you stay too?” He asked toward Tobio who was approaching at a much steadier pace. Tadashi flinched some at the characteristically harsh icy of his but breathed a sigh of relief when he just nodded in response.

“Really? How unfortunate,” another citizen joined the gathering group. He came out of the cottage overseeing the field and was also wiping his hands clean. Tsukishima Kei was one of Karasuno’s sharpest minds. He had a lot to do with planning, directing, or just plain advising based on his observations. Tadashi flinched at the comment from his dear friend. 

He muttered something along the lines of, “Tsukki, be nice,” under his breath.

“Are you going to try doing field work or something? You’re useless as a fighter,” Kei said brutally. Tobio sneered in response and began walking away before Shouyou spoke up.

“Hey! What do you mean by that?” Shouyou demanded. “He’s hurt so there’s no telling if he’s really useless or not.”

“It’s not because he’s hurt. Don’t tell me you’ve been so dull you haven’t noticed these past few days,” the tall blond huffed. Tobio growled and clenched his fist. He hadn’t responded to the insults just in case he jeopardized his new found position.

“What? No I haven’t. You can’t judged based of what you don’t know.” 

“He’s selfish. And wreckless. And frankly I doubt he’s the sort of team player Karasuno’s looking for in a fighter. It could put all of our fighters and knights at risk if he decides he’s more important than others. Please, Hinata-” He said, purposefully addressing him by his last name. “He’s unnecessarily intense and I disagree with allowing him to join our forces.” Tsukishima could tell he was making a point by the way the red-head’s face nearly matched his hair color.

“Whatever!” Shouyou suddenly huffed. “You haven’t been around him enough to know that for sure. He might even just be like that when you’re around cause you’re super mean.” Shouyou honestly sounded like a child and this made Tsukishima laugh.

“He acts like he’s been pampered his whole life. A lot less like a member of a group and more like some spoiled  _ king _ .”

“What was that?” Tobio snapped. It was his knee jerk reaction to spin back around and his heart was pounding. Did he know something? If he did- did he have to beat it out of him.

“I’m just saying. It’s no wonder your caravan left you behind. They probably just as much kicked you out. Did I strike a nerve, King?” Tsukishima mocked. 

It all happened within seconds. Kageyama raised his hand to slap Tsukishima, something he’d been conditioned to do to those lowlifes that disrespected him in the past. Shouyou was too short to stop it but Tadashi was close enough to step between the two and receive the slap across his face instead. This actually prompted an actual reaction from Tsukishima, a gasp.

“Tobio you can’t just hit people! That’s the wrong one!” Shouyou squealed. Tobio shook Shouyou off his arm rather forcefully and Tsukishima moved a shivering Tadashi to the side. The two grabbed at each other’s shirts and Kageyama tried to force the other one down a notch. 

“Please don’t fight-” Tadashi whined as he stumbled back and plopped down on the ground. Shouyou continued to pull at Tobio’s sleeve. 

“Stop it! You’re gonna get in trouble!” Shouyou practically wheezed as Tsukishima broke his grip and crossed over the fence. It wasn’t very tall so all he had to do was step over it and then he was trying to force Tobio off him, which just wasn’t happening.

“Take back what you were saying,” he hissed. There was going to be a fight and no one could tell Tobio otherwise. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty tired writing this but I wanted to get it in tonight. I followed the summary I made for myself for this chapter but I'd love to know if there are any mistakes! More chapters to come. Where I'm writing now is getting delicious. ;3


	5. Learn Your Place

“And you both swear to not do it again?” Suga questioned. He was currently sitting across from Tsukishima and Tobio. The two were both looking down, angrily glaring at the floor below them.

Flash forward about an hour and a passerby Tobio had previously met, Ennoshita Chikara, is rushing at the two on the ground. Tobio had managed to wrestle Tsukki down and was struggling to free himself from the others grip. Chikara began trying to pry the two off, only to get backhanded. 

“Shouyou- get in here and help,” he huffed. He was the fighter in training, after all. The

redhead nodded and let out a yell as he ran and leaped on Tobio with all his weight, knocking him free from Tsukishima’s grip and knocking him somewhat off balance. Ennoshita went in and made an attempt to drag Tsukishima from the dirt. The tall blond wiped his mouth- his lip was busted- and shot a glare in the direction of the other. 

So now here the two sat. Ennoshita had them both taken directly to Suga who was currently residing in Daichi’s place while he was out making negotiations with nearby more stationary villages. Since they were preparing to move within the next few months, they needed to make arrangements so they had all the supplies they needed to transfer to their new spot much farther away.  Their king was mostly negotiating trades for things before they were gone for good.

“Alright. Tsukishima, please return to your own business. Tobio, you’re going to get to work helping Yamaguchi with his plants. You owe it to him since you slapped him even if you weren’t aiming for him in particular,” he said. Tsukishima had already gotten up and left, but when Tobio tried getting up Suga turned back around. “Oh- please, Tobio. Don’t make this a common thing. If you’re starting up trouble we can’t accommodate you as you wish and I don’t want to have to kick you out.” Tobio nodded and turned then without words to walk out the door. 

  
  


Almost a full work week by without incident. Tobio had been assisting Yamaguchi and the pair managed to get much more done than usual. As long as Tsukishima wasn’t hanging around for his close friend’s sake, Tobio managed to be pretty productive. Aside from rooming and eating dinner with Shouyou, he only saw the other on the occasion. It seemed like he was having a pretty good time with his training. The harder he worked the more he excelled. Even when Shouyou was just passing by he had something else to brag about. Tobio didn’t want to admit it but he was jealous that the other seemed to be having so much fun.

Anyway, when Yamaguchi seemed fit, he’d be allowed to actually physically join the training with the other fighters. He hadn’t particularly respected the group of people before given their status, but since he’d seen some of the rigorous training up close, and realized how much more interesting it was then tending plants all day, he had a newfound endearment.

Tobio was finishing up his last day working with Yamaguchi and was about to retire. “I’m going now,” he said dully as he opened up the gate. 

“Alright. Thank you for the help,” the other replied as he finished up with his crops. Tobio was stepping out when he was nearly bulldozed over. 

“Tobio!” It was Shouyou, the little redheaded warrior.

“What?” He snapped.

“It’s an emergency. Quick, you gotta come with me! Yama, please go get Prince Suga! It’s really an emergency!” He huffed quickly. He grabbed Tobio’s wrist as Yama got up, sending a glance at Tsukki who’d been in the building nearby before Hinata had barreled in, yelling. Tobio looked confused as he was then yanked with a pretty hard force. He tried skidding to a stop by embedding his heels in the ground but Shouyou couldn’t be stopped. 

Before he knew it he was being dragged into a scene. King Daichi was leading a horse with two ladies sitting upon it. Two other men were by the horse’s side. The five of them, however were covered in dirt and soot. The two men on the side both appeared injured and one of the ladies was in a fit of coughs while the other appeared to have fainted at some point. 

Asahi was already at Daichi’s side getting an explanation while Shouyou was now helping the smaller fainted lady down. Tanaka and Nishinoya were both readily helping the other darker haired woman down from the horse. She didn’t seem to want help, and when she was given water to help with her coughing she managed to break away from the two. Shouyou was trying his hardest to keep the smaller blonde girl from slipping out of his grip but Tanaka ended up helping him in the end since Tobio was just standing there dumbfounded. 

“Tobio, help Kinoshita and Narita,” Tanaka directed. Tobi nodded and went to aid the other two men who he assumed were the people the Knight spoke of. 

Meanwhile Suga had hurried down in a jog, followed by Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Ennoshita, who came baring first aid, also followed behind the group. The next hour was a mild sort of chaos. The guests were situated, identified, and explained. 

Princess Yachi Hitoka and Queen Kiyoko Shimizu were the two women upon the horse. They were the two “leaders” of a part of Karasuno that had broken off and become independent and now it was destroyed. Unbeknownst to Aoba Joshai, the village hadn’t associated much with Karasuno since their low-key split. When King Daichi escaped to the actual remnant of the Kingdom of Karasuno, the portion of Aoba Johsai fighters wasted the place for some reason. No one could quite figure out- although Lady Kiyoko mentioned they might be looking for someone. They couldn’t figure out who despite that appearing to be the intention. Both Kinoshita and Nartia seemed sold on the point that it could also be they finally decided to come after the smaller, weaker fallen kingdom. 

After this, Hinata spent most of his night trying to help Kiyoko make little Yachi more comfortable. After all, the girl had probably just seen what she thought hell was. Tobio, shocked after learning just one or two of the details of the attack returned to his lodgings. 

When he got back Ukai Keishin was tidying everything up, making room for the two servants of the former Karasuno Ladies, who’d be resting. He’d offered up Tobio and Shouyou’s beds for them for the night so they’d be on the floor. 

“Hey, what’s wrong, kiddo?” He asked. “I mean aside from the obvious.” Ukai was fairly observant when it came to the others around the kingdom. In the time he’d spent watching Tobio, he’d realized that he was terrible with emotions and when something was bothering him it was pretty obvious. Usually the things were trivial. Like when Shouyou got filth on his clothing and he came in pouting. Or when he was pretty sure Shouyou was trying to act smug and cute around him instead of trying to impress him and court properly. It turned out Shouyou was just acting stupid and kidding around the whole time. So sure, this Tobio kid was pretty weird and he didn’t know how to talk to people, but Ukai managed to find a way to get him to pipe up.

“I’m scared about… the attack,” he said after a minute of silence. “They’re going to come here next and hurt um- everyone.” 

Ukai wiped his hands off and sat down, staring hard at the other, trying to read him. “Scared?” It wasn’t what he’d expected. “No, don’t be. King Daichi made it out and managed to save not only the Queen but her Princess Lady and their most valuable servants,” he said. “We’ll be sending people out to look for anyone who wasn’t taken to Seijoh or killed, and we’ll have our people on the move before they get here.”

“What do they want?” He asked. “I’ve never been in a situation like this before- I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, we can’t really be sure what they want unless they outright state it,” he assured Tobio. He knew the leaders of Karasuno had their suspicions to what the attack was about but he couldn’t tell Tobio nor would it concern the younger- probably.

Tobio breathed in deeply and shakily. When Ukai noticed he was actually truly frightened he gave him a reassuring pat on the back. 

“Look, I know it’s scary, but you’re going to be fine ok? And you don’t have to fight since you’ve not finished trainning. That job is for the actual fighters. It’s why we have them. Them and the Knights.” 

Tobio paused. “What about Shouyou?” He asked. “Will he be fighting if it happens like that?” He asked. 

Ukai nodded slowly. “Yes, most likely. Why? Are you concerned?” He questioned. Tobio seemed to think about this for a minute before he just looked down.

“No.” He replied simply. The former trainee coach found himself unable to tell if that was a lie or not or what it even implied. 

“Right, well, everything’s going to be fine. If nothing else I’ll try to make sure you’ll go untouched,” he said. “But have a little faith in our fighters. They know some of the finest techniques out there. Ok?” 

Tobio just nodded and looked away. Wow this kid really was bothered. Ukai gave him another pat on the back.

  
  


It wasn’t long after the King and Prince met and spoke with the two Ladies about what needed to happen that King Daichi found himself approaching Asahi’s cabin. He was about to knock when he heard a familiar voice within the cabin. It was playful and loud- definitely Nishinoya. He sighed and rubbed his face before giving a good solid knock. He heard some scrambling around, some kicking and falling. He thought he heard something like,

‘Get under the bed!’ 

‘I’m not that small, Azumane-!’ Before silence fell. A few heavy footsteps approached the door and it swung open. 

“Ah-uh-HA. My King,” Asahi bowed. “How are yo- what needs to uh be,” he cleared his throat. “What can I help you with this evening?” He sputtered out. 

“Ah, Azumane, I came to inform you about our meeting and to well... just talk,” he said. He gestured to the door, and almost peered inside but Asahi shut it behind him as he stepped forward.

“Yes, your highness.” He bowed, quickly. 

“First things first. It looks as if we might have several days before their next attack even if they come at all. And the likelihood that we’ll be able to move away faster than they can reach our real home here, is plausible.”

“Right. I will be sure to help things run as smoothly as possible. Is that all, my King?” He asked.

“No,” Daichi replied firmly. “Look, I know you have Nishinoya in there. And I know you two are… pretty close. I’d even go as far as to say you two have probably been secretly involved for a while,” he said. He saw Asahi start up. “Likewise, I’ve known this for a while. Personally, I don’t mind it in the least but you still should be aware of the dangers.” 

Asahi looked down, “I know. I’m sorry that I can’t help it, I love him a lot, your highness,” he said. “D-don’t get me wrong, I love serving you and I’ll do anything I need to in order to make sure you’re safe.” 

“I know you would and I wish we lived in a world where you were free to love anyone even as a King’s right hand man. But the facts are that if any other kingdom realizes what’s going on between the King’s Knight and the King’s best most loyal servant, they’ll label you a traitor. They’ll see you have to choose between me and your love in a bad situation and they know you’ll pick your love. Societies and kingdoms outside our own are very on edge about their fragile hierarchy.”

Asahi couldn’t bring himself to look up even as Daichi continued, “I’m not telling you that you have to break up. I’m warning you about what could potentially happen if you’re found out by someone outside Karasuno. They’ll assume I won’t know. And when I don’t relieve Nishinoya of his position and banish you for treason, the other kingdoms… They will assume I’m out to destroy what balance they have. Their Kings will fear what power I’ve given other classes and they’ll fear rebellion and treason from their own. Even if we’ve fallen, we still have an impact and I don’t want it to come to the larger kingdoms making an example out of us. The Knight who stole the Servant’s heart and the Royal Servant who wasn’t chaste or loyal only to the King.”

“So what are you warning me of, exactly?” He asked. He knew all the dangers of loving Noya already. 

“Please be more careful. We could be a possible target for Seijoh at the moment. The way they attacked our old settlement with no forewarning. It could be that they could use this as an excuse,” he explained. “I want it to be safe for you and Nishinoya to be together but I’m concerned.” He paused. He and Suga had already kicked the position of Grand King to the curb when they took over as the only rulers of Karasuno. That was even pushing their luck. “You know what will happen to you and I if they capture Karasuno. And they’d use Noya’s grief against him.” 

Asahi nodded and started to turn back when he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

“Between us, you have my blessing. Be cautious, though. Promise?” He asked. Asahi nodded and replied before he took his leave. As Daichi walked on back toward his own humble abode, Asahi returned to the overly hyper lover of his to relay what he’d just been told. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one's pretty late. Sorry about that. Midterm projects can be a butt to complete. But here you are. Some more world building, new characters, and more information on the whole Asanoya relationship. I finished this up pretty tired so if something doesn't make sense I probably left something out. Anyway, there should be another chapter up pretty quick after this! :3


	6. Punishments Befitting Kings

“Going out of our range should be a last resort, right?!” Keishin Ukai huffed. 

“It’s a stretch but I don’t think our old connection is so severed it can’t be recovered if we go that far,” Daichi spoke. “Reaching out to Nekoma is our best shot at getting back on our feet. We need a powerful ally and if we can ally with them… Well, there are other kingdoms that are likely to defend us,” he said. 

“Like who? Fukurodani? We haven’t had any relations with them at all that I remember. I mean aside from the one run-in when we declared we’d be neutral toward them.” 

“Yes, but from what I understand, they’re standing beside Nekoma through everything that’s happening between Seijoh and Shiratorizawa at the time. If a war breaks out, they’ll help them defend any invasions off,” the King replied. 

“If both you and Prince Suga agree, why do you need to consult me?” Ukai asked. 

“Normally I’d send both you and Ittetsu to deal with these sort of relations, but this time I need you to stay behind. We were going to see if he could accompany the Ladies to Nekoma so they would be safe, but Lady Yachi is too fragile and not fit for travel so soon after the incident that happened and Lady Kiyoko doesn’t want to leave her. It would be bad if they made it all the way there and were met with rejection. Their servants offered to go with Ittetsu if we promised to keep them safe. They suggested it might show more unity in Karasuno and likely yield better results.” 

“Right, so why am I staying behind?”

“I have suspicions about the kid we took in. Tobio, I mean. Nothing seems out of place with Shouyou- er, well other than the fact he’s perfectly enthusiastic about staking his life on the line for a fallen Kingdom that he’s just now become a part of- but,” he shrugged. “That’s how Nishinoya was, and aside from a few fits he’s been great. Very loyal too. I’m starting to get vibes from this Tobio character though,” he said.

“Oh?” Ukai thought a moment. “He did seem scared earlier when I spoke with him about Aoba Joshai. Could he be a criminal? Is that what you’re thinking?” 

Daichi nodded. “To some degree I think he could be dangerous. He thinks recklessly according to the others. Would you say that’s true?” He asked. 

Ukai had to think about this a minute. “Yes, to some extent. I don’t think he has it in him to harm anyone here though. If he were a criminal I’d think it’d be for something petty. He just can’t seem to handle himself socially, really,” he shrugged.

“I just need an eye kept on him. Shouyou’s still too new and you have more experience with people than any of us,” Daichi replied.

“Right. Well,” Ukai paused. “Wait isn’t that just a nice way to say that I’m really old?” He muttered. Daichi didn’t respond to that directly. 

  
  
  


“Noya-” Asahi basically groaned. “St-” he paused. “We can’t do anything more tonight,” he said softly. “I’m not really in the mood.”

Nishinoya seemed disappointed by this. “Aww, why?” He pouted. The smaller was lying on top of Asahi with their legs intertangled and his head propped up on his crossed arms which rested on Asahi’s chest. The two were lying in bed together currently, just relaxing some. Asahi didn’t reply. “Is it because of what King Daichi said last night?” He asked, softly. 

Asahi looked surprised. “Wh-what? No! Did you hear-” he paused. “Ok. I might be a little bit… concerned. We need to be more careful.” 

“We’re always careful-” he huffed. Asahi ruffled his hair and sighed.

“We try to be but we’re not. I’m pretty sure people other than King Daichi have figured us out. We just need to be less obvious in public, you know?” The smaller of the two didn’t seem to enjoy this idea at all.

“Why don’t we just not talk to each other at all in public,” he groaned. It was more sarcastic than anything. He didn’t actually mean it. Noya was just being difficult.

“Well we don’t have to go that far,” the servant replied. “We can still talk around other people. Let’s just make ourselves more aware of our actions and the people around us.” There was a long pause. “Noya if someone from another kingdom saw us it would mean so much trouble for everyone. All the people we love,” he whispered, gently caressing the side of the other’s face. 

“And those butts from Aoba Johsai are snooping around,” Nishinoya added. 

“Don’t call them that, Noya,” Asahi sighed. “They’re only doing what they have to do.”

“Yeah. Killing people. Taking people,” he muttered. “Their King or Grand King, whoever’s making them do stuff is super messed up. They just can’t leave us alone, those power hungry dickheads.” 

“Noya!!” Asahi cringed at the harsh language Nishinoya was spitting toward the other kingdom.

“You were just saying! If they were to find out- like even if it wasn’t true, even if they just suspected that we were together and even if they were wrong- they could use it against us. Take any excuse they can to destroy us, capture us- you name it,” he retorted. After a minute he rolled off of Asahi. “We need to get up,” he said now changing the subject. 

The servant agreed though and sat up. He went to go get his clothing and uniform pieces while Nishinoya pulled on his clothes from the other day. It wasn’t that the Knight wasn’t worried he was just so tired of sneaking around already and now it mattered more than ever. Nevertheless, he’d do his best to make things feel safer for Asahi.

  
  
  


“Highness, the Guard successfully located the broken off part of Karasuno. Their King fled, most likely back to the center and he took the people of importance with him. Last we heard Knight Iwaizumi was close to closing in so it won’t be long now.” Kunimi was the one to report this. Per usual. 

The Grand King of Aoba Joshai narrowed his eyes. “Right. Go on. I need details about the first confrontation.”

The servant sighed. He’d been discussing the information all the day and was starting to burn out. “There was no sign of Kageyama. But some of the prisoners we took may have information on his whereabouts. If he went to Karasuno then it is most likely he would go to the heart of it rather than just stay around the outlands. The pros to our situation? We’re definitely stronger than their forces. Cons? They know we’re coming now most likely and Kageyama knows our weak points. If he’s with them he’s going to help them unless we kill him.”

Oikawa sighed, “Fine.” Another presence lingered by Kunimi and whispered something in his ear. He seemed to perk up. 

Kunimi leaned in and in a low voice said, “Your majesty. Grand King Ushijima Wakatoshi has arrived.” 

Oikawa’s eye twitched but decided now was better than ever since his Knight was out. “Oh. Let him in.”

“They already let him in. He’s in the lobby. Waiting,” he said softly. “You might grace him

with your presence?” He tilted his head. Oikawa took a deep breath and sighed it out before straightening himself and passing the other by. He walked down the hallway and almost made it to the stairs when he saw a form, backlit in the doorway leading out of the long darkened hall. 

“Grand King Ushiwaka,” Oikawa sighed, using his little nickname for the other who didn’t seem to care. “I’m familiar with your silhouette already.”  He made an attempt to be amused but his voice was clearly lacking amusement or even any fondness. “So you let yourself in?” He asked, stopping where he was.

“I was eager to meet you again. You’re a very… curious ruler,” the other spoke, straightening and approaching Oikawa, who seemed confused by this statement. Curious, how? What did that even mean?

“You’re acting like you’re interested in me. Stop that,” he muttered. “You’re interested in obtaining more power and land only. There’s no need to feign intrigue.” It was pretty cold, sure. But so was Oikawa. At least he could be when he didn’t like the odds in his favor in a situation.

“And you’re acting like I’m not going to try to make this somewhat pleasant for you. You’re acting like we’re not both in this situation. And you’re acting like you know everything about me,” he said firmly. He didn’t talk much but he felt this needed to be addressed with his fiancee. Especially if they were going to be forced to live together in a new capital between the two kingdoms. 

“That’s so heavy, Ushiwaka,” he muttered. The two were almost face to face now. It was still dark but thanks to what little light there was, Oikawa was able to make out the other’s features at this distance. When the other didn’t respond and simply shrugged he made a ‘tsk’ noise and spun away. “What business do you have with me that couldn’t have been aforementioned by a messenger?”

“I want to get to know you personally. I didn’t want you to deny that so I travelled here myself,” he said. 

“We’ll have plenty of time to do that when we’re living together.” Oikawa was almost pissed off that the other Grand King dared to make an effort.

“Wouldn’t you like to know more about what it will be like so you can adequately prepare? I’d like to know how to handle you and-”

“That’s a job for my servants to do. You don’t even have to deal with me. I’ll be happy with the people I’ve chosen and we only really have to appear together for public events.” 

“If I just let that happen you’d likely risk an affair. You’re that type.” Ushijima may or may not have noticed Oikawa tensing up. He was that type. Oikawa would be on Iwaizumi as soon as the knight would allow it. So Ushijima was right, but did he know something? He continued. “Past Grand couples that have been that way-” he paused. “It almost always happens.” The way the Grand King of Shiratorizawa spoke sounded almost as if he were actually concerned the two wouldn’t get close or even tolerate each other. 

Oikawa sighed. “I guess. If I refused your request to just talk, I’d look terrible to the public for making you come all this way only to face you with rejection. My public would surely shame me for it. But that’s the only reason I’m allowing this. Understand?”

Ushijima nodded. “I hope to change your mind. But yes.” He followed as Oikawa gestured and began walking to the sitting room. He wanted to talk? So be it. He wanted to change his mind? Lord help him. 

  
  
  


“Like  _ hyaa!  _ And  _ shyahh!  _ And finally to win you give them the ol’  _ raaaawr draaaaah _ !” Shouyou completed a complex looking move right before Tobio’s eyes. The past couple days they’d mostly spent together, working on training and other exercises they could use to defend themselves and others should Aoba Johsai attack them before they had a chance to leave. “Are you even paying attention?” Shouyou asked. 

“Are you going to go by Hinata or Shouyou now that you’re a fighter?” 

“Well I mean I might. Maybe. I didn’t think about it.  If you go by your last name it denotes that you’re special to the kingdom. They’ve added me to their forces but I haven’t done anything notable yet to deserve that,” the redhead muttered.

“Sometimes it’s a protection thing. To keep your identity,” he said. “They seem to think you’re some kind of prodigy, though, as well.” 

“Well, yeah, duh. Of course it’s a safety precaution. Otherwise the personal names of all the great fighters would be out and they would be easy to find,” Shouyou replied. “Anyway, you’re actually really good too. You’re quick and er-well… You’re kind of reckless… B-but! That can be a good thing if you’re really loyal… I guess?!” He quickly corrected. “Anyway we work really good tag-teaming people. As soon as you really settle in, you can join me and we’ll be a really difficult-to-beat pair, right?” He grinned. 

“I guess,” Tobio shrugged. “I’ll only work with you to win over our enemies, though,” he sighed. “Otherwise you’re on your own.” 

“Hey, Tobio-” Hinata paused. “I don’t think I ever caught your last name, by the way. You know mine, alright.” 

“I don’t have a first name or last name. I just have a name. That’s it. That’s what happens when you leave your family to travel. I’ll make something up.” He frowned. “It’s getting late. Aren’t you tired?” He asked. 

“Yeah I guess. I’ll help you think of a name tomorrow. Night, Tobio!” With that Shouyou retired to the indoors. Tobio was almost finished with his nightly routine when he heard a rustling by the door. He peered outside and saw a shuffle. He turned back, wanting to ask Shouyou if he heard it too. Alas, the other had already retreated for the night and wouldn’t want to be disturbed. 

Tobio stepped out and decided a quick circle around would do. He cautiously edged around the back. As he rounded the corner to the backside of the home he was slammed against the sturdy wall. A hand was clamped over his mouth and he bit down, getting a mouthful of leather. A  _ glove _ . When his eyes fixated and adjusted to the other’s closeness he realized it was a face he knew. It was Kindaichi. 

“Kageyama the Traitor,” he huffed. Kindaichi removed his hands to grip his arms, pinning the other to the wall. 

“Kindaichi-” He hissed. “What happened?! Why are you here?” He demanded, trying to keep from spitting at the other. 

“After you no longer required my services as your servant I had a change in occupation. I’m not here to help you and I’m not your friend. In fact I wasn’t supposed to confront you tonight. I’ve been observing,” he said. “Now, I don’t want to kill you, but that is high up on Seijoh’s agenda. It’s going to happen soon and any threat you posed will be neutralized.”

Tobio was taken aback by the viciousness of his former servant. Ok, so maybe there was a lot to be mad about. Kindaichi’s anger was perfectly justifiable in retrospect. But killing him? He didn’t understand. Tobio was scared. That’s why they attacked Karasuno? They were looking for him. He didn’t know how they knew where he’d be but they’d found him and they were full of malice.

“I stayed banned as I was sentenced. I didn’t try to come back why are you trying to ki-” He was silenced. 

“I’d shut up if I were you. It’d be a shame if you betrayed us a third time,” he said solemnly. 

“A third time-?” Kageyama’s voice was much lower. 

“You’re living in enemy territory. You’re joining their forces,” he said. “That’s your second offense. If you betray our attack on Karasuno, that will be your third and you’ve already gotten a death sentence.”

Kageyama Tobio couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He didn’t understand it. They kicked him out. Banned him. Did they expect him to just die? Go down without a fight? No, of course he’d get help but he didn’t mean it to be offensive. He wasn’t completely innocent but his former kingdom just nitpicking for things to eliminate him over? He didn’t deserve it. At least he didn’t feel like he did.

“Anyway. Even if your loud voice betrayed you and they found out we were here. They’d know about you. They’d learn and they wouldn’t keep you.” Kindaichi was tempted to take Kageyama there. Capture him, simply. Let the others do away with him. Then he might spare some Karasuno lives but he knew those were not his orders and he couldn’t risk being caught. So many factors were at play here.  

Tobio wasn’t having any of it anymore. In a frustrated motion he swept Kindaichi to the side and took off. He heard a warning spoken at him but his emotions were bursting at their seams. 

“Just leave us alone! I won’t stand for this!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that if you're enjoying it (or even if you have criticisms or questions) I really loooove feedback! I have a juicy next two chapters planned so I'd really love to hear from those of you that actually take time out of your day to read this! Tell me what you think about these new developments! :3 Tell me if you think my characterization could be better! Tell me what you want to see more of! I'll take all these things into account when I'm writing the story. I aim to please! Although I don't guarantee it'll be exactly what you want. I'm bound to add in my own twist. ;3 Also I completed this at like 3:30 am so there may be stuff I left out!!


	7. Grim Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, albeit short, has some rough stuff in it. I'm not entirely sure if it's in need of a mature rating but just in case. It's sort of intense. 
> 
> Also I realize the names jump from first to last in this chapter, but it actually does have significance. :O

The second the once royal Kageyama Tobio flees is the second that Kindaichi has no choice but to report to his higher ups. The two waste no time in informing their superiors of what was inevitable.

As fast as he was going, it took him a while to reach Daichi and Suga’s door with how he was stumbling. Tobio scrambled all the way there setting back his time. Once there he was roughly banging on the door. A sleepy Daichi came to the door and pulled it open upon seeing it was Tobio outside the window. 

“King! You have to get out now,” he said. “There are people here. They’re going to attack us!” He shouted.

Daichi looked confused. “What? Who?” He asked. It was clear he was still tired. Suga appeared by his side, also sleepy, but responding to the shouting. Tobio grabbed Daichi and Suga instinctively swatted him. 

“Aoba Joshai’s forces are here. They’re coming to attack us,” he warned loudly. “You have to get everyone up and in hiding-” Tobio was panicked. When Daichi was fully awake he tried to grab him and tell him to get a grip, but before he could Tobio tore away and ran to the cottage he’d been staying in, yelling at them to wake up. There was always the chance that Aoba Joshai would wait to move. If he knew Kindaichi at all though- he would move quickly and tattle as soon as he reached the camp where Aoba Joshai was staying. 

Multiple residents had emerged as Tobio was making noise and yelling. He was about to move deeper into Karasuno when Tanaka restrained him.

“What are you doing?” Tobio spat. “We don’t have much time.” 

“No, what are you doing?!” Tanaka argued. “We don’t want everyone to panic. There aren’t that many of us that can control a frantic crowd,” he snapped. “We’ll spread the word calmly and strategically,” he told Tobio firmly. “Hinata! Wake up and get on guard. Go find Noya,” he said. 

Daichi spoke up. “I’ll get Noya. I’ll find Asahi too,” he said. Tanaka looked confused but he left with Daichi, just in case. Suga took charge.

“Tobio, breathe,” he said. He took a few minutes calming Tobio. He took him to the side and had him relax at least some. He wasn’t being coherent. He was way too frightened. Something was wrong. “What makes you think they’re here?”

“They’re-” he swallowed and cleared his throat. “Kindaichi-”

“Who?” Suga asked, a confused look on his head. He tilted it. 

“A reputable fighter-” He corrected. “He’s- He was watching me. I confronted him. I think he knows I’m warning you. I think he’s going to tell their leader. I don’t know where their camp is-” he breathed.

“It’ll take them time to mobilize. It’s nighttime. I don’t think-” he started. His eyes widened when they glanced over  the hill somewhat in the distance behind Takeda’s and Ukai’s cottage. One… Two, three… Four… Silhouettes dark against the blue light of the moon appeared. The numbers were growing. It was as theatrical as a play the way they gathered up on the hill to stare down their enemies. It was a slow descent down the hill. Suga shuffled in his spot uncomfortably and as Ukai approached him he demanded that he go help get the citizens out. He swallowed nervously and stood taller as the first fighter on horseback approached. As he neared, he realized that the attire of the first denoted the status of Knight. And the Knight was hardly ever on the front lines. They wanted something. 

He didn’t walk to greet the invaders. He stood his ground as the Knight Iwaizumi came to him. Without dismounting, Iwaizumi remained towering over Prince Suga. He stared down at him in the low light. The two both wore hardened expressions. Behind Suga, Hinata was ready to fight and Kageyama was frozen in fear. 

“What do you want?” He asked simply. He expected Iwaizumi to sneer something like, ‘Well you’re not the King’, but he didn’t. He grunted and raised an armored arm. Several of his men on foot set off to Suga’s right where Kageyama stood. They surrounded them. Suga started to protest but Iwaizumi pointed his spear at his round torchlit face. 

“You don’t know a thing about this man. Yet you’re about to confront me as if you care,” he spoke. “Do you know the truth about him?” He asked. “I guess it doesn’t matter. He warned you, right? He was doing his duty as a citizen. He was too slow and it’s too little too late,” Iwaizumi sneered. 

Suga straightened himself and let his arms fall to his sides. “We know he’s broken off from a caravan and that’s all we need. If he’s lived a past life of crime, he’s let it go now,” he assured. “Take your men off of him.” Suga could be scary stern sometimes. 

Iwaizumi’s face twitched. “I can’t afford that, I’m afraid.” He lowered his spear. “But if you surrender his life, we’ll leave your home unharmed for now.” Suga didn’t need to look back to know Tobio was longingly and fearfully staring at him. “If you’re curious to know, maybe we’ll tell you afterwards- this man’s crimes.” He looked over at his fighters surrounding Kageyama. “Kill him.” It was so emotionless. 

“Nooo!” A shriek from Hinata came. The sudden movement had Iwaizumi twirling his spear and striking Hinata hard in the head with the blunt end. 

“Shut up, tiny shrimp! Whatever you think you know about him- you don’t.” He thought Hinata was down but the tiny fighter was surprisingly resilient. He sprung up and with a great speed found himself by the mean surrounding Tobio. He knocked the feet out from under one that grasp at him in return, causing Hinata to fall on Tobio. The redhead immediately turned around and lashed out but there wasn’t much he could do at the two, armed and fully leather clad fighters that gripped his small arms. He squirmed and wriggled as Suga told him to stand down.

“We can’t let you take the life of someone who hasn’t been proven guilty of anything deserving of that punishment,” Suga spoke again. Iwaizumi was obviously pissed off. 

“We can’t let you protect a traitor,” Iwaizumi snarled back. He repositioned his spear, this time closer to Suga’s throat. Hinata whined at Tobio but he was frozen. Before Iwaizumi could reaffirm his order an arrow whizzed through the air and shot through his unguarded hand. Iwaizumi gawked and the spear fell from his hand. 

He emitted a pained yell and glared at Tanaka who had shot from a nearby rooftop. He’d stopped accompanying their king to get some sort of weapons on hand. He noticed the commotion and hurried as much as he could.

In a rage, Iwaizumi ordered his fighters, “Take Karasuno,” in a low voice. Chaos broke loose then. Tanaka sped into the heart of the fight, whipping a pair of knives from his belt. He went in yelling and screaming at the pair holding Hinata. Despite the slashing of his knives, the cuts he inflicted on those surrounding his fellow fighters in training were shallow, albeit painful. The lanky Knight knocked Suga out of the way. 

“Go Hinata. Take Suga. Get him to Daichi. They’re headed to safety,” he said lowly. 

“I want to help here!” Hinata shouted. 

“I have Tobio. Noya’s on the way. Now go!” Tanaka barked. Hinata gritted his teeth but 

grabbed Suga’s wrist and yanked him away. Suga struggled to keep up with Hinata, even though the fighter had already been hit over the head. He was quite the force to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile, Tanaka had shoved Tobio in an attempt to rile the other up to fight. He grew more and more frustrated the more flustered Tobio got. While his underlings were going through the town and tearing doors off hinges, Iwaizumi had fallen back to wrap his hand. 

Tanaka dove for those going to attack and ransack homes. He went after the more vicious ones first. Tobio remained frozen until met with Kindaichi.

“I told you this would happen,” his former servant hissed. “This is the sort of consequence you’ll get from something like what you did. Intentional or not- this is your third strike.” 

Something about Kindaichi being his opponent sent adrenaline pumping through his veins and he lunged at the other. The fight was unfair considering Kindaichi was now armed. He withdrew his sword and just as Tobio tackled him around the waist, the fighter brought the butt of the sword down on his head. It fazed Tobio for a minute enough for foot to jam itself underneath his ribcage. And then again. The metal booted foot made contact, knocking even more air out of him. Tobio choked on his breath and rolled onto his back, struggling to get up. He was up on his elbows and pushing up with his wrists when the boot hit him a third time, this time flat against his chest.

“I have orders now,” Kindaichi said and Tobio knew exactly what he meant. 

“Rolllinnggg Thunderrrr!” A loud voice echoed past the chaos as Nishinoya burst onto the scene, effectively knocking Kindaichi to the ground. Both the smaller fighter and the ex-servant wrestled now. Tobio didn’t know what rolling thunder was but he didn’t have time to inquire. He spotted one of the fighters Tanaka had slashed at. He was still doubled over in pain. And Iwaizumi was still viewing the chaos from where he was still tieing his hand in a bundle.

Grunting in pain, Tobio crawled over and drew the sword from the fallen fighter’s sheath. He stood up shakily and went around back. Noya was proving a useful distraction for Kindaichi who was having a difficult time counteracting the others quick movements. He could hardly keep up. 

Tobio had made his way around the building Iwaizumi was by. The horse was still standing there, but when he rounded the corner at full speed, Iwaizumi was gone. The horse cried out in surprise at the attack and fled suddenly when Tobio was taken by surprise  when he was knocked to the ground yet again. He was rolled over and a sword was at his throat.

“You’re not as sneaky as you think, Kageyama,” Iwaizumi huffed. “You’d think you might have learned your lesson when your murderous plans didn’t go over well the first time around,” Iwaizumi huffed. “You’ll no longer be a danger to Aoba Joshai. No longer will you pose a threat to my Grand King,” he growled. He lifted the sword above his head whilst Tobio was squirming to get away. He rolled over, back to the other in an attempt to crawl out of harm’s way. When the sword came down, he had just reached the sword that had fallen from his grip. In a quick thrash, Tobio managed to deflect Iwaizumi’s attack. His grey-blue eyes were shut tight in anticipation for the next blow he’d swing wildly at to avoid, but none came. 

Once again, Nishinoya had come to his rescue. Kindaichi was having a difficult time getting up. It looked as if Noya had cut into something around his thigh. Now Noya was on Iwaizumi’s back, a small knife embedded just under the other’s shoulder blade. Kindaichi was limping toward them. Nothing Noya did was fatal but as soon as Iwaizumi had come to from the shock he’d backhanded Noya, leaving the knife in as the smaller dropped back to the ground from the force. He was almost about to lunge again when in one swift movement Kindaichi collapsed by him, grabbing Noya in once forceful go. 

He forced Nishinoya down just as Iwaizumi turned and plunged his sword into the small Knight’s belly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot happens in so little time, doesn't it?


	8. All So Quickly

Kindaichi forced Nishinoya down just as Iwaizumi turned and plunged his sword into the small Knight’s belly.

 

Tobio stared in awe and horror as Nishinoya was impaled with a sword at the hand of his former allies. He couldn’t bring himself to react- it was only when a shriek ripped through the air, from Tanaka, he’d soon learn. He’d returned and now Hinata was by his side. Both were bloodied to some extent but it wasn’t clear how much of it was their own. In their wake, Tobio saw a number of injured Aoba Joshai fighters and Iwaizumi saw it too. He hadn’t brought enough trained forces and now his fighters were hurt.

Hinata was soon on to fighting Kindaichi. They were both donning swords from fallen Seijoh soldiers now. Tanaka expertly fought off Iwaizumi, who despite his injuries, he was still excellent at fighting back. He’d met his match with Tanaka now that he was armed with something more dangerous than a knife. Tanaka was even able to turn around enough to yell at Tobio. He was starting to get up but was still frozen. 

“Tobio! Get Noya now!” The small Knight was still on the ground, he was desperately clutching his side which was bleeding profusely. Tanaka’s eyes flickered up from Tobio who’d started moving to Noya and he had to double take. It was Asahi. He’d walked through the wake of destruction and- “ _ No. _ ”

Asahi saw Noya on the ground and he looked as if his heart stopped. His face drained of color. “N-noya-” 

“Asahi! No! Go back!” Tanaka had to turn back to continue his fight with Iwaizumi. It wasn’t any use. It’d take an iron wall to hold Asahi back from Noya at this point and suddenly Iwaizumi was stepping back and sheathing his sword. Kindaichi backed off from Hinata as well. Tanaka allowed this stop as he knew what Iwaizumi was watching now. 

Asahi was distraughtly kneeling by Noya. He was torn between pulling the smaller into his lap and arms to hold him and leaving him on the ground. He was tearing pieces off his royal servant garments to sop up some of the blood. He wormed one hand under Noya’s head and was whispering things to him, that he was going to try to help him, that he loved him and was doing his best.

Noya of course had squinted his eyes shut in pain. He couldn’t answer. He let out a pained whine. 

“A royal servant. And a royal servant that doesn’t have a knightly status at that,” Iwaizumi mused, walking around. He avoided holding his shoulder to keep himself from showing he was too hurt. “And he’s crying over someone other than his King. Pathetic. Disgusting.” He was circling around now. 

“You leave him alone-” Tanaka growled at the other Knight.

“Does this kingdom- er pardon me. Let me start again. Do these ruins not have an inkling of the concept of our hierarchy?” Iwaizumi asked. “Not having a Grand King, just a King and a fake Prince?” He asked. “Well that’s two things Karasuno has failed to grasp. You are aware that when the Grand King- or in this case, the King’s- royal servant gives his oath to serve the king and only the king, he’s swearing off any sort of romantic relationship that might sever that oath. It’s a vow of chastity.” Iwaizumi continued. The fighting had stopped. Everyone was listening much to their chagrin, except Asahi who was actually really crying now. 

“I can see why he doesn’t hold a Knightly status, as most royal servants also do. He’s weak. Maybe not physically, but mentally. Emotionally. This is a travesty to every royal servant who’s been loyal to only their Majesty.” Iwaizumi looked away. He had stopped walking. “And to think. Your attempt to comfort him in his dying moments are probably all in vain. I didn’t stab him hard enough to kill him but if he bleeds too much more-” Iwaizumi shrugged. Tanaka made a move toward Noya. He went to Asahi’s aid.

“You’re out of options. Yet you still came out here. And in doing so you raised a flag. There’s even more wrong with Karasuno than we thought and it’s threat to our own peace. Not only because you’re housing a traitorous king.” He glanced at Tobio who was glaring. “But because your hierarchy is so out of whack and lacking in priorities, it just might touch the people of Aoba Johsai into raising questions. Striking ideas of rebellion against our system. You can all see how this would be bad. Our Grand King may be intermarrying Shiratorizawa and Aoba Johsai, but that doesn’t mean Shiratorizawa will spare our Kingdom name should a rebellion arise.

“I guess in a way, you’ve failed as a royal servant and betrayed your King. The fact is he could be dying and you’d not be there to protect him. You’d be with one of his lower servants instead.” He stopped and turned. “Kindaichi. We’re retreating.” He said. 

“Sir, Kageyama is still-”

“It’s fine. Karasuno isn’t so idiotic that they’d let a traitorous killer stay in their vicinity,” Iwaizumi said. “Especially not the former King of Aoba Johsai. The one that wanted them out of the way.” 

Everyone was so fixated on Noya, they didn’t spare Tobio a glance. He didn’t deserve it. He’d probably been fooling them all. They all heard Iwaizumi. There’d be questions later.

Iwaizumi helped Kindaichi mount his horse considering he was the one with the leg injury.  “Matsukawa. Hanamaki,” Iwaizumi called. The two soldiers were injured but able to move and walk. They were the two most lively. “Get the horses. We’re surrendering for now.” 

“Hinata, go,” Tanaka instructed. “We need Suga, now.” He’d managed to clog up the bleeding enough, although the white rag was quickly soaking to a dark red. 

“I-I’ll go too-” Tobio started.

“No you won’t. You’re staying right here.”

Within mere minutes Suga was rushing to Noya’s side. Daichi was right behind him, not wanting Suga to go out where he was vulnerable alone. 

While Suga stooped by Nishinoya, moving Tanaka out of the way, Asahi had put his face near Nishinoya’s. He had his hands now, caressing either side of Noya’s very pale face. He could tell when Noya lost all consciousness because his face relaxed and was no longer scrunched up. Suga noticed this too and worked fast. He had a wooden box with things he could use to stitch up the wound. It was deep but not deep enough to harm any major organs. Yes, Iwaizumi might have spared him that, at least, given that Noya did not bring more harm than completely necessary to his soldiers. Just enough to stop them in their tasks. Tanaka had done the same after all. So no casualties were collected on the opposing side. No, the problem here was the bleeding. 

It was good Noya was unconscious in one sense because he wouldn’t feel himself being stitched up with such crude materials. On the other hand it was bad because they were running out of time.

Suga feverishly worked for minutes and it was gradual but after Nishinoya was stitched up with a thick, coarse string, he worked on padding and wrapping his wound. By the time he was finished, Iwaizumi had most of his men retreating. 

Daichi stood-by, trying to console Asahi some, who was still crying. Asahi was normally a sensitive, emotional guy, but hardly ever did he get like this. Actually he couldn’t recall a time when he did. 

“Asahi,” Suga said, speaking up. “Hey, listen. There’s still hope, ok? He might recover. Maybe.” Suga really didn’t know Noya’s chances, given what internal damage he might have. Again it didn’t seem to be so much of an issue. It certainly helped that the sword sliced through the leather padding before embedding the tip into Nishinoya’s toned stomach.  It was tougher to sew back, being that he was pretty muscular, but it meant there was less of a chance that he’d internally bleed to death hopefully. Noya wasn’t coughing up blood or drowning in it either so it seemed his lungs were still in tact. Stomach too, most probably. 

“Right now we need to move him somewhere safe and more sanitary without  _ moving _ him. We need a board,” He said. Hinata was quick to oblige. He retrieved one of the lighter doors that had been knocked off its hinges and dragged it to Noya’s side. It was a group effort but they managed to lay Noya on the door and successfully lift him up.

For now they only had a safe room underground. The entrance was a cave nearby. They maneuvered Noya inside with Asahi holding him in place on the door and got him settled in a softer bed. Suga stayed by his side for hours, doing everything he could to help Noya, including cleaning the wound while he was out. Asahi insisted on staying by his side too. Daichi let him. After all, he knew about this whole love thing and he knew that if it were Suga on the bed, he’d not let anyone come between them.

Daichi sighed, watching the two over Nishinoya. He figured it wouldn’t help if he hovered either. He offered Suga some support. Asahi as well, but mofr the most part left them alone. Tanaka had to speak with him. He was holding Kageyama in a separate room from the others. They had a lot to go through. As soon as Daichi could get a meeting together, get his council together, they would decide what had to be done with Kageyama. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter but like I told a couple of you, I really don't like to stay on cliffhangers for long. So here's the next chapter! This one's got a cliffhanger too I guess... just not a terrible one. :3


	9. To Be a King's Knight

“We must move immediately,” King Daichi spoke. “We have some time to get a move on, but as soon as we are able we must leave because we’re not safe here.”

“Your majesty,” Tanaka addressed, standing, “Nishinoya won’t be able to make the trip if we go. What can we do with him? We can’t just leave him.” He didn’t want to lose his friend altogether. He’d made it through the night. They couldn’t just leave him to die off now. 

Daichi sighed. “We need to wait for the return of our messengers. They should be back very soon now but we don’t have time to waste. I’ll send out two When they arrive we can ask them to seek Dateko’s help. They may be sympathetic to our cause,” Daichi spoke. “I wish to enlist their help and-” he paused. “Asahi has to go with them. They’ll think it more meaningful if I were to send my own servant.”

Tanaka nodded and sat down by the chair of the absent servant. He was waiting by Noya’s side for him to wake up. He glanced over the table at Ukai, who stood next. “As short as the distance is between here and Dateko- all we have to do is cross the river and take the plains route and we’ll be on their territory. I want us to send multiple people. I want Hinata to go to protect Asahi and Nishinoya,” he said. “And I’ll go.” 

King Daichi thought about this before nodding. “Right. That sounds fair. Hinata performed well in battle,” he said. “Very well. I’ll allow this,” he sighed.

“But now we have another matter to tackle,” he said. “I’ve personally spoken with Tobio and his credibility has fallen. He refuses to talk about why he was banished from his kingdom, but he has in fact confessed that he is King Kageyama. They’ve already rejected him and they likely came here to kill him when they learned we had him. He knows their weaknesses.” He said. “And this may be a reason to keep him. Eventually he may talk.”

Daichi took a long pause. “However, he did lie and is the entire reason we’re in this mess right now,” he said. 

“He’s the reason Nishinoya was hurt. Noya was protecting him,” Tanaka said lowly. He wasn’t thinking too fondly now that his lifelong best friend had been wounded so terribly. 

“It’s true, but we also have to remember Aoba Johsai has been ready to attack us for a while. This is just their reason.”

Suga stood now to speak. “They have even more of a reason now. They have no tolerance for any divergence in in their precious hierarchy,” he said. “Unfortunately, even if Noya were to die, they’re going to use this step out of line against us.”

Daichi nodded. “I hate to use the term fortunate here in light of Noya’s injury, but we won’t be nearly as fortunate the next time they attack,” he said. “They’re a group of powerful individuals and they’ll be back with more. Their Grand King isn’t an idiot. He’s very insightful when it comes to being prepared for battle and now that they had information on us and our style, it’ll be difficult to pull off another win. This is why we have to move as soon as we can.” 

“Eventually we will have to face them but we’ll have time to build up our forces enough to hold our own as we recuperate at Nekoma. I doubt they’ll be willing to sacrifice any of their fighters for our sake, but they’ll help teach ours and keep them on their toes.”

There was silence so the group could think. Said silence was soon broken by a knock on the door. Tanaka answered. It was Shouyou.

“Shouyou, what?” Tanaka asked, addressing him by his last name.

“Knight Nishinoya is awake.” Every was quiet for a second. Suga was the first to react. He got up. 

“This is good news,” he said. He turned to Daichi. “You’ll have to pardon me. It’s vital I see his progress,” he apologized. Daichi nodded in understanding. He started to get up too but Ukai put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Your highness, if I may, I think you should stay behind. You’ll have time to talk to him if he pulls through. What’s important now is making sure he can. We don’t want to distract Prince Suga from healing him. It’s also best to not crowd him and we haven’t been able to make your servant leave,” he said. 

“Right. I’ll stay here while Suga works,” he said softly.

  
  
  


Noya was lying mostly flat on the bed, his back only very slightly elevated up. He was very pale. The lack of color was obvious even in the low light. It was evident he was in a lot of pain because he wasn’t able to keep his eyes open for too long at a time, but while he did, they were trained on Asahi who was gently tracing patterns over his palm and wrist to help distract him. The servant looked up as Noya cleared his throat.

“Heh, looks like I’ve been impaled, huh,” he said, throat dry and voice cracking. He looked briefly at Asahi.

“Yeah,” Asahi said. “You were,” he said softly, voice low. 

“And not the good kind either,” he muttered after a minute. “Not the Azumane kind-” He opened his eyes again and smirked. It was a pretty weak smirk but it was there nonetheless. It was possible that he was trying to get Asahi to not look so down.

One corner of Asahi’s mouth tweaked up. “Noya-” He sighed, leaning back. “Take it easy. You don’t need to be making jokes like you are,” he said. “Rest so you’ll feel better,” he said quietly.

“I am resting but-” he paused. “Will that make  _ you _ feel better?” He asked.

“It would. I just-” he shrugged. “I need you to pull through this. That will make me feel better. Think you can do that?” He asked.

Noya nodded. “Yeah. I’ll try,” he coughed and cleared his throat. He wanted to promise him but was worried he wouldn’t be able to keep it. The two sat in silence for a minute before Shouyou stopped by. He peeked in. Noya didn’t move to look but Asahi sat up. Shouyou gestured at Noya and then made a waking up motion with his hands. Asahi nodded and the fighter returned it. He turned around and ran off. 

“Who was that?” Noya asked weakly.

“It was Hinata. He was seeing if you were awake. I’m guessing he went to tell Suga,” he said.

Noya gave something that resembled a nod. A minute later he tried speaking up again, drawing a deep breath in. 

“Noya, really, you should be resting,” he said. “Shhh,” he prompted giving Noya’s hand a light squeeze. 

“But I want to know what happened-” He said. 

“I’ll fill you in when you’re better. I told you,” he replied.

“But I want to know now- Is it bad?” He asked.

“No one else was hurt too badly. Minor things here and there-” he said. Prince Suga entered then. Asahi bowed his head. Noya gave it a try when he noticed the Prince’s presence but Suga held up a hand. 

“Don’t move too much. That’s what’s going to best help you recover,” Suga told Noya. “I’m just here to check up on you. I need to know how you’re feeling, what hurts where,” he said. “I need to just generally come to a few conclusions about your condition.” 

Noya nodded. He looked at Asahi. “Can he stay?” He asked. Suga looked at Asahi who was looking pleadingly at him.

“It’s fine. He can. This isn’t going to be too extensive,” he told the two. He shooed Asahi to the side and took his spot to crouch near Noya. Asahi sat on the foot of the bed. Suga tested a few things here and there and everything seemed to be ok so far. He unwrapped Noya’s wound and took the fabric pad off. The cut itself was gnarly looking. The blood was mostly dried but it was pink around the stitches. Suga frowned. That wasn’t good. “I’ll wash it out,” he said. “It looks like it may get an infection, which we can’t have,” he added. He turned and went to retrieve some fresh clean water. 

Noya was frowning and looking down at the wound, then at Asahi. Almost immediately he read the worry on Asahi’s face.  “Hey, it’s gonna be ok. I’m not gonna let some infection get the best of me,” he muttered, lying his head back down. Asahi didn’t say anything as Suga returned to very gently wash and dry the wound. 

“Since it doesn’t need the pressure anymore, I’m going to only use bandages,” he said. “So you can let it breathe a little bit,” he said. “In the mean time I’ll take to our remaining archives and medicinal cabinents,” he said. “There may be something we can use to help prevent any further infection,” he said.

Noya nodded and sighed. Asahi returned to his spot briefly after Suga left.

  
  
  


It wasn’t much later when Shouyou was on his way to his next shift when Daichi stopped him out of nowhere. “Wait, actually, Shouyou, I need to speak with you,” he said. The red-head was quick to boy. 

“Your highness?” He asked, looking up at his King. Daichi nodded one way and walked back to a private room, taking a seat. He gestured to a spot next to him, telling the shorter to sit. Shouyou complied. 

“What are your thoughts on Tobio as King Kageyama?” He asked. He felt the other tense up and watched as his shoulders stiffened.

“I feel betrayed,” he said. “And tricked. Please, your highness, don’t ask me to talk to him. Because I won’t- er… I mean, I really don’t want to. I’m sorry if this is-”

“I don’t need you to speak with him, I just wanted your opinion,” he said. “That’s all.” The King then stood back up and stood in front of Shouyou. “On an unrelated note, I’m going to be sending you on a quest of sorts.”

Shouyou’s eyes glimmered and his expression brightened, eager to hear of this task. “Yes? Any task, your highness!” He said.

“I need you to go with Ukai while he escorts Asahi and Nishinoya to Dateko’s nearby settlement. They’re on Aoba Johsai’s border, and we’re sandwiched between the two,” he said. “It’s not a long trip. Perhaps a day if you were on horse back or running by foot. Nishinoya’s in poor condition, obviously, and the trip may be slower. But it’s crucial to his recovery that he gets to safety. He can’t travel with us to Nekoma, but Dateko may be willing to assist us,” he explained. “It’s more likely they have a larger archive of resources that will help heal Noya faster.” Daichi watched Shouyou’s expression carefully.

“I accept. You need me to protect them, right?” He asked. Daichi nodded. 

“Yes. And while we have no time or anything for a proper ceremony,” he said. “I would like to promote you to Knight.” 

Hinata laughed loudly and slowly stopped when he saw Daichi was not laughing. “Wait, you’re serious?” He asked. “Your highness- I don’t mean to be too bold here but that’s almost unheard of! I’m not even, I just-! I just showed up here,” he said. Daichi just nodded. 

“You showed great valor in your first fight and as much as I hate to admit, even if Noya does pull through,” he paused, “it won’t be for a while before we have another Knight.” This and Daichi was going to stick it to the hierarchy as much as he could. That was one passive way they could rebel.

Hinata was practically shaking. Excitement, nerves, shock, elation? It was a lot of things. “I’ll take Noya’s place as Knight. I’ll fight for him while he recovers,” he said. “You can count on me. I won’t let him, or you, or Karasuno down,” he said. 

King Daichi nodded, and unceremoniously tapped both of Hinata’s shoulders. “It’s a dangerous job, to be a King's Knight. Don’t get me wrong,” he said. “But I think you’re well suited for the job. Maybe one day Noya will be well enough to rejoin you. He's quite resilient but for now, it's on you.” 

Hinata nodded and then glanced up at Daichi, staring determinedly. “Thank you, your highness. I must now return to my post and then I’ll continue training until I have to rest before our trip. When am I to leave with them?” He asked.

“The most we can wait,” he said. “The day after tomorrow. That’s as far as I’ll risk,” he said. “You’re to leave before the sunrise.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I totally have a great excuse for why this chapter is so super duper high school level late!! I've actually started writing a second fanfiction that's solely Asanoya. And I've begun planning yet another Asanoya fic even still. I've been hard at work as a writer!! Also it was a good chance for a break in this story before things get hectic. So hopefully I'll get back on track now that I've got a rhythm going!! :3


	10. Doomed to Fail

“I was told that though we suffered no casualties we still managed to lose,” Grand King Oikawa spoke. The royal’s legs were draped over one side of his throne, body slumped in the seat so his head rested on the other jewel encrusted arm. He kicked one leg up and down lazily. Iwaizumi knelt before him, hand heavily wrapped in thick white bandages. 

“Yes, your majesty, it’s true. But we have new information regarding our foe. It’s going to be crucial to our… movement,” Iwaizumi responded. He saw his King nod and took it as a sign to continue talking. “First, they do have Kageyama in their clutches. He doesn’t seem to be helping them, and by outing him to their pitiful lot, I can say that we assured he doesn’t have their trust. Therefore making it difficult for them to believe anything he might say about us.”

“Excellent. Is there a probability they may abandon him?” He asked. “Do they know the extent?” He asked.

“I don’t believe they’re aware of the extent of his crimes, no. I don’t know whether they’ll abandon him either. I just know he’s in a bad position and not high in their graces. I left it ambiguous though. Unless he’s confessed they won’t know exactly what he’s done.” 

“Either way this is good news for us. But did you get any information on Karasuno? You implied you wanted to start something when you mentioned a movement,” Oikawa pointed out. 

“If there was ever a time to conquer Karasuno and dissolve them once and for all, it would be now,” he said.

“I agree but explain,” Oikawa muttered.

“They’re weakened. They’re forces are small and one of their most precious fighters received a possibly fatal wound inflicted by my own hand. We were on unfamiliar ground and unprepared for their attacks, but our fighters are skilled. We’ll be far better if we attack a second time. And we have a reason to do so. A reason that makes us look as if they’re enemies to our system and we’re bringing justice to their reckless ways.” This seemed to pique Oikawa’s interest. He sat up and straight as a king should, beckoning him to keep talking.

“They’re hierarchy is completely out of order. As we’ve already been aware, they are without of a Grand King. Their King’s Prince was a medical apprentice prior to marriage and a new tidbit we’ve learned is that King Daichi was allowing his servant to profess his loyalty and undying love to a Knight,” he spat these words as if it were disgusting. He may have expected Oikawa to grimace or something like that but the ruler only smirked. 

“And just how did you obtain this information?” He questioned.  
“I witnessed it upon the battlefield after I struck the knight down.” He watched as Oikawa stood up and paced by Iwaizumi, inviting him back to a stand. He took Iwaizumi’s bandaged hand in both of his and kissed the back of it.

“A forbidden love… how romantic,” he said. Iwaizumi didn’t snatch his hand away. He allowed Oikawa to lower it. “It’ll be such a shame if they don’t get to nurture it should the knight die.” Oikawa seemed even further interested. “Don’t you think it’s ironic, Hajime?” He was taunting him now but Iwaizumi would resist his advances for Oikawa’s own good. “Do you think their love was doomed like this from the start,” he circled Iwaizumi.

“Yes. If death didn’t part them, sooner or later the hierarchy would,” Iwaizumi said firmly.

“So they have no chance? My Knight, that’s so pessimistic.” 

“No. It’s realistic. Relationships like that stand no chance. It’s childish to believe something like that- something out of a fairy tail would survive in this world in this time. And I know what you’re getting at. I know what you’re doing, your highness.” 

“I assure you. I’m not getting at anything. Maybe I’m just curious about your opinion on this.” He saw he wasn’t getting anywhere with Iwaizumi and walked past him again to sit back upon his throne. “Let’s discuss our tactic.” 

“The wounded knight is as good as dead. Even if he lives, we won’t have to worry about or face him in battle again, not for a long while. We’ll have succeeded in battering the rest of their forces before his return. So assuming he’s dead, our excuse still works. King Daichi was allowing this to happen. He’s a traitor to the system all our kingdoms have agreed upon. He’s threatening structure and therefore pushing for a bloody revolution. So my highness, let us attack immediately. We’ll summon our standby forces and take them before they have a chance to flee.”

“No,” Oikawa said, holding a hand up at Iwaizumi. “I want the element of surprise. Lead them into a false sense of security. If they come seeking peace, we’ll have no mercy. We’ll make them examples.” He paused and looked down. “Hajime, come here.” Iwaizumi moved but stopped. When he hesitated, Oikawa looked up. “Now. That’s an order,” he said. Iwaizumi approached and knelt before Oikawa’s royal chair. The King tilted his head up and placed a kiss on his mouth. Iwaizumi didn’t entirely approve of his behavior but he allowed it. It was chaste enough and he couldn’t say he didn’t actually want it. He could allow himself to enjoy that small pleasure.

“For my sake, don’t believe too religiously that romances like  _ that _ are doomed to fail.” Iwaizumi’s Grand King left the room on that note. 

  
  
  


It had been two days and Hinata, Nishinoya, Asahi, and Ukai had successfully made it to Dateko’s camp. The president may have been persuaded by Hinata and moved by their cause. He was sympathetic really. Quiet, and intimidating but fairly thoughtful was their leader. It didn’t take much for him to allow the others into his kingdom.

Nishinoya was immediately given medical care while Ukai explained the situation with Grand King Aone’s underlings. He started showing improvement shortly after arrival when he was given a higher quality resting spot and more complex medicines and bandages. Dateko was far more advanced in these areas especially, but that was to be assumed. Of course, this didn’t stop Asahi from becoming a nervous wreck when the two had to be separated so they could tend further to Noya’s wounds.

Hinata did his best to calm Asahi’s nerves, but his jumpiness didn’t seem to actually let Asahi benefit from the positive energy. Ukai spent most of his time talking, making arrangements, and setting up treaties after their initial conversation concerning the trouble Kingdom of Aoba Johsai. The better fit kingdom agreed to not yield any resources to Aoba Johsai soldiers should they pass through. Ukai also managed to get them agree to allowing Nishinoya to stay through his recovery with Asahi, where the two could be safe. In return Asahi’s would lend out his services to the King or his underlings. Ukai informed Hinata that they’d be taking their leave to Nekoma soon and King Aone offered them a few supplies to tote along. They’d be on their way before dawn the following morning after a small meal and receiving new equipment for the trek ahead.

  
  
  


Daichi led the way to Nekoma with Suga on one side and Tanaka on the other. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were on either side of a blindfolded Kageyama. Behind them followed several wagons and the like. They had a few animals with them as well. Taking up the sides and back were others of significance to the King. The journey was tedious and it would stretch over days and days. When they were about a day away from their old location they came to a rather rocky pass. It was notoriously a dangerous area for a variety of reasons.

“Keep your eyes peeled,” Daichi directed. “For animals, bandits, other unfriendly forces,” he added. “Look out for sliding or falling rocks too,” he added. “Additionally don’t make any loud noises.” 

Prince Suga looked around and shuffled closer to Daichi. He couldn’t say he was  feeling great about this whole route but they hadn’t run into any trouble yet. He could see out of the corner of his eyes Tanaka on high alert. A few of their pack seemed uneasy as well but the bulk seemed ok. 

It was a long quiet walk. No one talked. The sun was setting on the other side of the pass. They were almost there. Gravel and small rocks rained down just behind the group, prompting them to move more quickly. Slowly the group trickled to a split in the pass. Daichi felt a pang of frustration realizing the path they needed to take was clogged up a little further down. The blocked path would have been more roundabout but it would have avoided the walk through the dense part of the woods. He silently directed the others in the direction of the exit. 

Daichi noticed Suga staring intently at the woods they’d be veering off into and he reached out to grab his hand and give it a small squeeze of comfort. 

“Sawamura,” he whispered, “I don’t want to camp here,” he told his king. Daichi really couldn’t help it.

“Sorry. It’s not safe to camp in the quarry and going through the woods after dusk is unsafe, no matter how small a section it is,” he reached an arm around Suga and pulled him close to give him a small forehead kiss. “It’ll be fine as long as we stay out here right on the edge of the woods.” Daichi paused and then rubbed his shoulder in an attempt to soothe Suga. “Help me get the others all settled down?” He asked as he started half walking, half sliding down the small slope from the gravel-y pass to the dirt below. He walked out ahead of the group to designate a spot to their camp for the night.

Suga seemed still uneasy but he nodded at Daichi as he walked on ahead. He started helping direct the others to spots that looked safe enough to set up camp for the night. They were a pretty large group. Nothing would bother people in so many numbers right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So thank you guys for being so patient~! School's really started kicking my butt this quarter but I hope you haven't abandoned me yet! Unless I specifically update with a note saying I won't update, you can bet at some point I'll get a new update in!~ Also the fact that I have a couple new fanfics to post (about four now) is also sort of time consuming. I'm just waiting until I'm farther in this one! :3


	11. Howling

_ Rustle. Rustle.  _

Suga’s head snapped around. “What was that?” He asked softly in a meek voice. Daichi, more slowly turned his head and scanned the area. 

“It’s nothing. We’re on a forest’s edge,” he said. “Animals do live here, Koushi,” he told the other in order to calm his nerves a bit. He didn’t think it’d actually be much help, but it was worth a shot. He went and sat by his Prince who was perched on a half rotting log. “This seating isn’t fitting for such a delicate Prince like you.”

“Nor is it fit for my King,” he said. “It’s better safe than sorry though so I guess I’m glad we’re here rather than there,” he said. “Back home I mean.” 

“Yeah. Well, this will be worth it when we’re actually safe in a bed. We may be safer from Aoba Johsai here, but don’t try to be too lucky yet,” he said. “I want you to feel safe, but stay alert,” he said.

“That’s what I’m already doing,” he said, poking him in the side. “Anyway, we’re loosing light pretty fast,” he said. “I think most of ours are all setup and ready for sleep so I’m taking the first watch,” he said. 

“I’ll stay up with you,” he said but he was stopped as Suga abruptly placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“You do better when you’re well rested and you need to lead us again tomorrow, so please, let me take care of things,” he said. Daichi seemed to think about this for a while. 

“I’m still staying up with you. That is final,” he said. Suga didn’t reply. He knew if he kept pushing he could win this fight since he was the only one who could tell his King what but then again he wasn’t really sure he wanted to. Hearing Daichi say that gave him at least some sense of security so he just nodded.

“Fine. That’s fine with me, I guess,” he replied. “But you’re going to go to bed with me when my shift finishes,” he bargained. He wondered if this was selfish of him but then decided it really wasn’t too bad. 

The pair stayed up long after the last citizen settled down. All appeared calm and well, of course, for most of the night. A rustling noise caught Suga off guard. It seemed that it was coming from within in their camp. He eyed Daichi and his King met his gaze. It was definitely too big of a noise to be a small creature. The two stood slowly in sync and silence. They crept forward, peering around in the dark, this way and that, taking advantage of any lighter point they could. All in one swift movement Daichi struck as a shadow moved forth. He held a fistful of cloth in his hand, gripping the shirt until his knuckles were white.

“K-King!” Yamaguchi stuttered. “Please!” Daichi immediately relaxed and released his grip on his shirt. Suga however gave the farmer a sharp jab with his hand.

“Why are you up?” Suga asked. “You can’t just sneak around like that,” he said. 

“No! I was just- I was,” he was breathing hard and talking in a shrill whisper.

“Calm and speak. What were you doing?” He asked, rubbing his shoulder. He met Yamaguchi’s eyes. He was clearly in a state of alarm.

“King,” he whispered. “Keep your voice down, please, if I may suggest. Someone is here,” he said. Daichi and Suga’s blood ran cold at the jump to the worst possible conclusion. Had Aoba Johsai caught up with them? Been following them? Was it just a spy? Or were they ready to wreak havoc before Karasuno left the other kingdom’s marked and explored lands? Daichi looked down in thought as Suga looked at him for answers. When they were quiet for a minute Suga turned to Yamaguchi.

“Are you sure of what you saw? Do you think it may be a soldier or a spy? One of our people in disguise?” He asked. Yamaguchi shook his head. 

“It was no one familiar and they were brightly dressed against the dark background when I saw them in the moonlight-” he said. “They saw me looking and fled,” he added. Daichi was still deep in thought. 

“We can’t afford to alarm people. I’ll alert Tanaka and have him start patrolling. Is Tobio still in Tsukishima’s care?” He asked. There was a very low possibility that Kageyama would recognize the location at night and even if he did, the possibility of him being able to contact Seijoh was even lower. “I mean assuming you’re here, he’s probably still sleeping, correct?” The freckled farmer nodded. “Right. Wake him up. We need to put him to good use. Remain calm. Prince Suga and I will start patrolling the perimeter,” he assured, giving him a solid pat on the back. He sent him back off to the tent.

“Bright color- that could easily be the sky blue of Seijoh,” Suga spoke solemnly. “If they’re a spy they’re long gone but we need to move,” he said. “We’re at the edge of their personally explored territory so it will be easy to identify our location if we stay.” Diachi put a finger up to Suga’s lips.

“Koushi, let’s not worry about that yet. We’ll be fine. Where’s your overwhelming cool gone?” He asked with a small chuckle in his voice.

“I still have my cool, I just wanted to suggest-” He was silenced when Daichi pulled him into a hug. “Right, then,” he said, squirming away. “Let’s go walking.” 

Daichi straightened up and took his hand pulling him along. They walked as silently as they could and they tried to keep their footfalls in sync in order to identify anything out of the ordinary. Nothing moved in the underbrush of the woods their first time around. Opposite to them on the other side of the camp Tanaka and Tobio were roaming and searching, taking look out. It was likely Tanaka was telling Tobio a number of strategies to employ depending on the situation should one arise because Daichi could hear a very light hum of a voice. Tanaka was never a very quiet whisperer. As they made their round back towards Yamaguchi’s and Tsukishima’s set up, Yamaguchi poked his head back out.

He was going to ask what was currently happening because he needed an update and just couldn’t sleep. Suga noticed it first, his eyes widening in fear. 

  
  
  


Hinata and Ukai bid farewell to the kingdom of Dateko and it’s silent ruler in the early evening that same night. The pair saw to it that Asahi and Nishinoya were both comfortable before leaving. They were a bit out of the ways, but because it was merely the two of them returning and they were both a sign of fitness and health, making quick work of the trip to Nekoma ahead would be a fairly easy task. They were stocked with a food supply that should last them the journey there and equipped with a variety of small but effective weapons, such as knifes and a pair of spears. So long as they were able to travel discreetly, nothing should theoretically come in there way.

By nightfall they had already made some good leeway. Hinata yawned and rubbed his eyes. He sluggishly lifted his spear and stabbed it into the soft dirt below their feet.

“Why don’t we set up camp?” The red head muttered.

“Why didn’t you nap before we left like I told you?” Ukai retorted. Hinata felt it would be disrespectful to point out Ukai wasn’t his parent. And it wouldn’t be completely wrong as Ukai had been looking out for him like a parent. 

“I didn’t think we’d actually be hiking all through the night,” Hinata replied, voice caught in a groan. 

“I gave you no reason to believe I intended on stopping. It’s safer this way.”

“There is no way it can be safer to travel in the dark like this! I can hardly see a thing!” 

“Eventually, your eyes will adjust. And it is. In this case at least. By moving through the night we eliminate any threat in an area by getting away from it. And because after dark is a more dangerous time, it’s better that we have our guards up and are alert while we travel. We can rest in the morning, when any night prowlers are asleep and we can afford to hole up and let our guard down. Hinata huffed but nodded. 

“You’re too wise, Mr. Ukai.”

“It’s not wisdom. It’s common sense,” the adult replied. “If you use that brain of yours I’m sure you could have figured it out eventually, you know.” 

There was silence between them as they furthered their trail. At first there was a soft babbling. As they continued to walk, the babble grew to a beating sound and then to a roar. When the waterfall came into view, Hinata could hardly believe it. He stared in awe at it’s majesty. 

“If you don’t close your mouth, you’ll catch flies, kid,” Ukai replied, tapping the backside of his usually fluffy head. His hair was pretty dirty at the moment and therefore sort of matted. He gulped and shut his mouth which tasted dry when contrasted to the wet flowing waterfall. He was gently coaxed along on his way though when Ukai started getting farther than a safe distance away from him.

“I know I’m mad at Tobio but I kinda wanna show him this waterfall. It’s really cool,” he said.

“You’re still angry at him for lying to you?” Ukai asked. He tried not to speak in so many words to conserve energy. 

“Yeah,” he said. “I mean, I feel really betrayed ‘cause I thought we were friends and trusted each other,” he admitted. “And I mean, who knows what else he’s hiding from us. I don’t know him at all.” Hinata’s head started hanging. Ukai didn’t say anything for a while. 

“Daichi isn’t going to allow him any freedom from now on,” he said. “He’ll be watched all the time. He could come clean during some of those long hours but even if he does it might not even help him.” There was another stretch of silence.

Ukai spoke again, “You could change that though. If you mean anything to him at all, you could stand up and request to take him under your wing. You’d be flattering him by taking him on, giving him another chance. Even if he didn’t trust you before, he might trust you again.”

“But-” Hinata paused. “Why do I feel like you’re setting me up to do that just to get information from him? What if he does open up and tell me things? I’d have to tell you and you said it might not be good what would have to happen to him,” Hinata pointed out.

“Look, I’m not saying you have to tattle. If you get information that makes him look bad you can pretend you didn’t. You can swear to secrecy and stay by his side. The gesture alone would be enough to make him want to stop his train of thought if it’s especially threatening.”

“But I won’t talk to him until he apologizes for lying in the first place,” he said. “Even if I could save our friendship, I’m still mad!” 

“That’s understandable,” Ukai replied. “I’m just suggesting if you feel like acting like a grown-up. That and… well, saving him the trouble. Not that he deserves that or anything, of course.” Hinata looked down and seemed to think about this. 

“I wish I could talk to him now,” the young knight sighed. “I wonder what he’s doing-” the thought caused him to pause and think. With a group as big as theirs he was probably sleeping.

  
  
  


Daichi and Suga turned sharply to face nothingness as Yamaguchi let out a yell of terror. Then movement above them caught Suga’s eye. He looked up and shoved Daichi out of the way as a net sprawled above the two. The Prince dove in the other direction to avoid capture.

Figures hiding in the tops of the tree brush, rose against the moonlight. They were lightly silhouetted and hardly distinct, but there was one certain thing. The bright color on their capes wasn’t that of Aoba Johsai, but another clan entirely.

Bright yellow was hardly something they’d seen before. It was an undesirable distinguishable color because of it’s gaudy, loud nature. It could give anyone away. Although, if you were looking to stand out, it was a decent choice and these attackers weren’t looking to blend in. 

When their first net missed, who seemed to be the leader leaped down. “Ah, none of you are cute!” The leader huffed loudly. He paced by Daichi and then by Suga. On reflex Daichi stepped protectively in front of Suga as the wild looking “leader” leaned in closer. “Well, no cute girls anyway,” he corrected himself.

A few others from the trees scaled back down the trunks and took to standing strongly by his side when Tanaka approached, attempting to intimidate the band of newcomers. 

“What brings this gang to our forest?” The speaker was fairly tall, blond. He was covered in grime- as were the others in his squad. 

“We’re passing through and we stopped on the forest’s edge for tonight,” he said. “What makes this forest yours? Is this a problem?” Daichi questioned, speaking clearly and assertively.

“We live in this forest. We’ve inhabited it for years!” 

“And the Kingdom of Aoba Johsai allows this?” 

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them. And even if they do, which they might, those cowards don’t have the guts to come out and make us move,” he said. “But you say this as if you aren’t from Aoba Johsai. Where does your allegiance fall? Dateko, maybe? Are you hailing from Shiratorizawa?” Daichi didn’t like all these questions.

“Neither. We’re our own clan of people.”

“And you don’t have a name?” He cooed. “I’m just going to assume you’re the leader 

here since you’re the only one speaking to me. By the way, I’m Terushima. I’m pretty great. These are my followers,” he stuck his tongue out. He spun around and flung his yellow cape over his shoulder. “We’re the Jozenji bandits and we  _ are _ the forest.” 

Daichi straightened up. As far as he knew Jozenji didn’t have any beef with Karasuno. He wasn’t even sure if he’d heard of the bandits before. This all seemed like a ploy but in case it wasn’t he could play the pity card. That and if they came across poor and defenseless to bandits that were possibly out looking for fortune then he could play up their past. 

“Our kingdom was destroyed and we were recently attacked. Once upon a time we were the great Karasuno, but since we have fallen things haven’t been so great.” For a second Daichi was certain he’d struck a chord with Terushima because he stopped. 

“Karasuno, eh?” Suga could see movement beneath the yellow cape, causing it to reflect lightly. Was he gesturing to his followers. All eyes were on Terushima. “Let me guess. You’re the king?” He turned his head slightly, giving attention to Daichi. Suddenly he spun and bowed. 

“You’ve been through much. Karasuno was just attacked by Aoba Johsai, correct?” He asked in an unsettling clear and solemn tone. It cause Daichi to hesitate.

“Yes. That is correct. We’ve had to leave because of their atta-” before he could even move, Terushima stood and backed up and the bandits descended. Weapons weren’t apart of the equation but they were skilled in hand to hand, that much was clear. Daichi was taken on by two at once and he fought to back them off. Several bandits attacked Tanaka. 

Before long the camp was in chaos. Many of the members of Karasuno were running about being trampled on. Tobio looked around at the chaos. He was mad he’d been treated as a hostage, but that couldn’t be help. In his eyes this meant redemption. He moved quickly to help Tanaka when a hand gripped his collar and yanked him back.

“Well, hey! Look at this! Aren’t you lost, King Kageyama? They have you captured,” he said. “Don’t worry yourself. We’ll return you and reap your reward!” Terushima was full of bravado but didn’t seem to know the situation regarding Tobio’s kingship. 

There was a call through the air then. It was like a howl in a way, to which the others responded. Their chaotic attacks were succeeding all over the camp. It seemed like more and afterthought that anything but in that moment Terushima swiped his leg under the former King, knocking him to the ground. Fallen again, Kageyama Tobio blacked out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make a longer chapter and it was originally longer but there was a good cut off point on page five so it's a little shorter than I intended! But here you go! An action-packed chapter and the promise of even more disasters to come! :3 Thank you!


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